


RWBY's Crew

by Soldier5396



Series: World War RWBY [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-13 03:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7960834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soldier5396/pseuds/Soldier5396
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 1944 and the front line has gone quiet. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long crew an infamous Tiger tank that has been captured and affectionately named RWBY. They are eager to put their skills to the test and when they hear of a German offensive in the Ardennes forest they can't wait to get into the fight. Along the way a Bumbleby flies strong and a Whiterose sprouts, but will they be able to survive the war?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Tiger named RWBY

_Thunk._

"Enemy tank left flank!'' cried the red haired commander.

_Thunk._ Another shell bounced off the armor as the crew swung the turret around to zero in the new threat.

"Shells loaded!'' came the cry from the blonde loader.

Once the sights were on target, Ruby gave the order, "Fire!"

One shot flew down range and hit the enemy tank knocking out the track with a loud crack and sending metal flying in all directions. The auto loading mechanism sprang to life, ejecting the spent shell and loading the next in two seconds flat. Round number two found its mark by destroying the enemy's fuel tanks and setting the tank ablaze.

"Nailed it," Yang happily stated.

"Good job team," Ruby happily told everyone, "that's one less enemy to have to deal with. Weiss get on the radio and report our kill, Yang reload the autoloader, and Blake get us to some cover behind those trees."

"Yes Ma'am!" the three replied in unison. Their Tiger tank trundled along the frozen ground, leaving a dark brown scar across the pristine white sea. Ruby looked to Weiss as she radioed in their current situation. She could remember the first time they had met and how they had started to become good friends.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Ruby looked around her as she stood at attention in the platoon of new recruits. She was wearing her usual red t-shirt and blue jeans. She thought that Yang had stayed close to her as they got off the bus, but now she couldn't seem find her long golden locks among the other new recruits. As her eyes wandered, she caught a glimpse of someone to her left that had long white hair that blocked Ruby's view of her face.

"Recruit Rose!" Ruby jumped slightly as she was called by the Drill Instructor. She remembered that she was supposed to be at attention and looked forward, trying to hide her embarrassment. Next thing she knew, the DI was in her face screaming at her about staying at attention until she was told otherwise. _Great,_ she thought, _I'm already messing up and not following Yang's advice to remain anonymous_. Luckily, since the new recruits still had to be indoctrinated and processed, a scolding was all that Ruby received.

Sometime later Ruby found herself at the barracks with the free time that the recruits were allotted at the end of each day. She decided to use this time to meet the other recruits that had been placed into her unit. Ruby did have Yang in her unit, which was fine by her. If it wasn't for Yang convincing her to join she would still be at home, able to relax. The least Yang could do was help her survive this torture that many called "boot camp". Yet Ruby felt that having more friends and support could be very beneficial.

So Ruby got off her bunk and started down the line of bunk beds that lined each wall of the barracks. She spotted Yang talking to a dark haired girl that was reading a book on her bunk. As she walked on she saw some people that looked rather unapproachable and decided to move on. She had to find someone who was not that intimidating. Then she spotted the white haired girl that she had seen earlier in formation standing by the last bunk towards the back of the room. The girl was making her bunk over and over again, practicing the proper technique that they had all been taught earlier. Ruby decided that she would probably be the best person to make friends with on the first day. After all she did seem to want to succeed in every aspect, even making the bed the right way.

"Hi! I'm recruit Rose," she said when she got close enough for the girl to hear her.

The girl turned to look at her and froze for a split second before recovering her composure. She straightened herself and turned to properly face Ruby.

"Hello, I'm recruit Schnee," she said.

"Nice to meet you Schnee, I hope that we can get along and help each other out!" Ruby chirped. She paused for a second then asked, "What's your first name?"

Schnee scowled at her. "Why do you need to know? We're only allowed to use last names when addressing each other."

"Well if we're going to become friends and help each other out, I thought that we should get to know each other better."

Schnee paused for a minute with a pondering look. "Weiss," she said at last, "my first name is Weiss."

Ruby smiled, "That's a pretty name, well I'm Ruby," She said as she extended her hand, "it's nice to properly meet you."

Weiss was caught off guard by Ruby's remark. _A pretty name?_ , she thought starting to blush slightly.

"Why don't you go and talk to someone else? I have to prepare for tomorrow." Weiss stated rather harshly as she looked away to hide her face.

Ruby felt a bit hurt as Weiss' demeanor had changed out of nowhere. "Oh, okay. I'll see you around then." Ruby lowered her hand and pouted as she walked away looking for others to talk to. _Maybe I can make friends with the girl Yang was talking to_ , she thought to herself.

"Ruby!" Ruby turned to look at Weiss in shock as she called her again, "Ruby!"

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Ruby was pulled from her thoughts as Weiss called her a third time. She looked around remembering that she was in her tank and not in boot camp anymore. She leaned to the right to be able to see Weiss past the main gun's breech.

"Yes Weiss?"

Weiss turned back to face Ruby, "Command has given orders to return to base. Sounds like something big might be coming up," the white haired radio operator reported.

"Right," Ruby replied, "Blake get us moving, everyone be on alert, I have a feeling there may be more enemy forces in this area." She looked out of the viewports in the cupola for anything that looked suspicious or like an enemy tank.

"Please, not only is there basically no enemies around, nobody would ever think of messing with our tank. Especially if they saw how I took out that poor Panzer IV." Yang boasted as she looked through the view ports. "It was a tank-tacular kill!"

Everyone groaned as they heard another of Yang's terrible puns. "Yang, I'm warning you if you don't stop I'll switch your headset off again" Weiss said while flashing Yang an irritated look. Ruby couldn't help but giggle at that. She remembered the last time Weiss had done that, Yang had been forced to yell over the engine for anyone to hear her. Afterwards she sounded like she had a frog in her throat and was unable to talk above a whisper for a week.

"Weiss be nice." Blake said as she continued to drive the tank.

"Thank you Blake, at least someone understands me." Yang said with a devilish grin. "She has a purr-fect taste in comedy!"

"God damn it Yang!" Blake angrily replied, "You know how I feel about cat puns." Ever since Blake had found and adopted a stray cat and revealed just how much she loved the animal, Yang had been making nonstop puns of the feline variety.

"I had to, I mean you're such a huge cat person tha-"

Blake listened but Yang didn't say anything else. She was tempted to turn and see what happened but then Weiss spoke up.

"I warned you about the puns, Yang" Weiss stated with a smirk. Blake chuckled and a second later she heard Weiss yelp after Yang punched her arm causing her to laugh harder.

"Alright team," Ruby spoke up, "the base is just up ahead, so Weiss, message the tower that we're approaching from the East. I don't want another mix up."

"Hey, " Weiss responded, "the last time was your fault. If you had remembered that we're in a captured tank we wouldn't have been shot at by mistake."

"Well you are the radio operator, you should have radioed in that we were approaching anyways."

"You're the commander, you should have reminded me!"

"I shouldn't have to remind you to do your job!"

"Well you should-"

"Enough you two!" Blake interrupted.

" _Just kiss you two_ ," Yang managed over the roar of the engine. " _you already sound like an old married couple_."

Ruby's face turned the color of her name as she reeled from Yang's teasing. For some time she had struggled with understanding her feelings toward Weiss. She had grown to have a crush on her by the time they had completed the tank academy. She felt there was no way Weiss could feel the same way though, not with the way she had recently taken to fighting with her over multiple unimportant issues. Ruby was so deep in thought again that she missed Weiss reacting in a similar fashion, giving her a quick longing look.

Weiss had always secretly admired Ruby for what she had managed to accomplish. Ruby had lied about her age and gotten into the 4th Armoured Division at the age of 16. She managed to keep up with everyone else through boot camp and even excel to the point of becoming a 1st Lieutenant straight out of the tank academy and becoming the leader of their tank crew. _Plus,_ she thought, _she was very attractive with her silver eyes and red tipped hair_. She couldn't reveal how she felt though, if Ruby didn't feel the same then there would always be an issue between them. Which was not a good thing to have when you spent several hours with the other person on a daily basis.

Weiss' thoughts were interrupted when a screeching sound, as loud as a freight train, caused the entire crew to jump. Weiss quickly grabbed the microphone to the radio and yelled, "This is 1st Lieutenant Schnee part of RWBY's crew, cease fire! Cease fire! Our tank is currently approaching from the East and you are firing on us!"

"Roger that Lieutenant, ceasing fire." came over the radio as the crew of RWBY began to relax again. "Sorry about the scare, just had to make sure that you were friendly."

Ruby looked to Weiss with an annoyed expression as Weiss apologized to the rest of the crew. While the whole team loved the fact that they had been given a captured Tiger tank to call their own, it did come with some down sides. First and foremost was that a captured tank looked exactly like a regular enemy tank, minus the change in insignias on the sides of the turret, which greatly increased the risk of friendly fire. Yet the crew had grown very fond of their tank, even nicknaming it RWBY and marking their kill tally on the side of the turret. On top of that, being the only Tiger tank to be captured meant that their tank was the envy of every other tank crew in the 4th Armoured, including their friends from boot camp, in the JNPR tank crew. Ruby had discussed with Jaune multiple times that his tank, the Sherman M4A3E2 was an excellent tank and even had more armor in some places than the Tiger. However, Juane and many others still longed to be able to crew the infamous Tiger tank. Of course being designed for a crew of five, the RWBY crew had to find some solution to fix the missing crew member issue. The way they fixed it was by installing an auto loading mechanism. A highly experimental mechanism, the autoloader helped remove the need for a loader, at least for a clip of three shells. If it managed to work properly. Since the mechanism was so unconventional and experimental it would often malfunction and cause a massive delay in the reloading process.

Ruby was still upset that they yet again had a close call, though she began to feel concern for her team member, it was unlike her to get distracted while they were out on a mission. She made a mental note to ask her about it later as they got to the front gate of the base. The base was set up as a temporary encampment for infantry and tankers to find some rest and relaxation when they weren't on the front, but it was still quite the sight. On the Northern end was a large tank depot where hundreds of tanks were stored as their crews had down time, just to the left of that were the barracks, showers, and the bar. The command and communication tents dominated the center of the base and the chow hall was just across from them. The entire base was surrounded by tank traps, barbed wire, minefields, MG bunkers, and AT gun emplacements.

After being cleared by the gate's personnel, Blake pulled the tank into the tank depot and parked it next to JNPR, the tank owned and crewed by their good friends. It was covered in new dings, a ton of dirt, and the gun also appeared to have been removed, most likely for repairs.

RWBY's crew climbed out of their tank and started off towards the barracks. Ruby however, split off from the rest of the crew, heading towards the command tent to get the new orders. On her way she ran into Jaune who had just returned from his mission to escort a supply convoy.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune started, "how did the patrol go?"

"Well you know same old, same old. What about your escort?" Ruby replied.

"Nora got overzealous and decided to ram our tank into a German MG bunker, I'm sure you've seen the aftermath on the JNPR. Needless to say that was quite an adventure."

Ruby laughed, "Trust Nora to take mundane operations and find a way to make a great story out of them. Speaking of which, how's the rest of the crew?"

"Ren is being his usual self, struggling to keep Nora in line, Nora is being Nora, and Pyrrha seems to be troubled by something but I can't figure out what," Jaune said with a bit of concern in his voice.

"Yeeaahh," Ruby said, "I don't know what could be wrong either." In truth Ruby knew what was wrong with Pyrrha. Once back in boot camp, while the crew's of RWBY and JNPR had chow in the mess hall, Yang had pointed out how Pyrrha was looking at Jaune. It had become quite apparent to everyone after that, that Pyrrha had feelings for him. Apparent to everyone that is except for Jaune.

"You should ask her about it. You might learn something to help your team work better together." Ruby said as she figured that maybe after some time talking to Pyrrha, Jaune would realize the feelings that she had. Of course, having been several years since basic and the academy with no sign of realization, Ruby didn't think it would happen anytime soon. Couldn't hurt to try though.

Jaune frowned, "You're one to talk. What about you and Weiss?"

Ruby got a confused look, "What about me and Weiss?"

Jaune realized what he said and quickly stated, "Nothing, never mind, we're here anyway." He parted the command tent's flaps. "After you."

 

 

 

 

For reference RWBY's Tiger 1 and JNPR's Sherman tank profiles:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first FanFic, I got the inspiration for this by viewing Dishwasher1910's art called RWBY Und Panzer. I will try to follow history to some extent, but obviously not entirely as only Russia allowed women in the military at the time. I won't be posting on set schedule due to time delays with college, but I will post whenever I get the chance. Thanks for taking the time to read!


	2. Operation Prepare

"So glad you could join us Major. I see that Captain Arc is accompanying you. Right then, let's get this briefing started." General Ironwood motioned for the two new arrivals to take their seats as he turned his attention to the projector that showed a detailed map of the surrounding area. Ruby took her seat and pulled out a small note pad just as the General began talking.

 "As you all know these past few days have been rather quiet. The German forces have been scarce and we've mainly been patrolling empty grounds while the infantry forces are trying their best to break this stalemate."

 Ruby rolled her eyes. _I'll say_ , she thought, _Yang's been itching for a fight with only the occasional Panzer IV to target practice on. Well, and those poor guys who made her mad the other night at the bar._

 "However, I have just received word that a plan has been set in motion. This one comes straight from Ozpin. Many of you have not yet heard, but the 106th Infantry Division holding the Ardennes forest has been attacked by surprise earlier today. Our orders are to begin preparations to counter attack. While the exact orders have not yet been given by Eisenhower, Ozpin feels it is reasonable to assume that we will be redeployed to counter attack, better to be safe than sorry."

 Ironwood continued describing what preparations would need to be made and motioning to the projector to illustrate the orders. Meanwhile, Ruby was still focusing on the fact that the Wehrmacht had made such an attack, if such a move had been made, then there definitely had to be strong enemy forces. _This is it!_ she thought excitedly, _A chance to finally test our tank skills  against a worthy foe!_

 As Ironwood continued, giving each tank commander their orders in turn, Ruby noticed that the preparations they would make were going to take a long time. This meant that Ruby would have plenty of time to get her team trained and ready and maybe even strengthen her relationship with Weiss.

 "Does anybody have any questions about your orders?" Ironwood asked one last time. When no one answered, he concluded, "Then get back to your crews and start preparations. Major Rose, Captain Arc, given that you two just returned from missions I'm granting you and your crews two day leave. I still expect you to be prepared however, so make sure all your gear is in order as soon as possible."

 "Yes sir!" the two answered happily.

 "Attention!" Ironwood called, causing everyone to jump to attention. "Dismissed!"

 

\-------------------------------------------------

 

Weiss, Blake, and Yang had returned to the barracks to get some rest and relaxation. They entered their small tent that served as their crew's barracks. Their bunk beds were on either side of the tent, with a couple of desks separating them from each other. The team placed their weapons on the desk, Ruby's M1 Carbine that Weiss had brought in for her, Weiss' Webley, Blake's Colt .45 and machete, and Yang's sawed off double barrel.

 Weiss sat on her bunk considering what she would do before the new orders came in. Most likely they wouldn't have anything else to do today as the German forces had seemingly lost their will to fight. Yang was talking to Blake as she read her book and pet her cat on her bunk. From the bits of conversation that Weiss could make out, she determined that they were planning a date for the night. Weiss felt happy that Blake and Yang had gotten together and had suspected that they had feelings for each other long before they had announced that they were together. Yet she couldn't help but feel a bit sad. _I wish Ruby and I could have that,_ she thought, _but there's no way that Ruby could feel the same._

 "Hey Weiss, what do you have planned for today?" Yang asked bringing Weiss out of her thoughts.

 "Oh I was just going to shower then stay in, I didn't really have anything planned beyond that." Weiss knew what she wanted to do, basically anything that helped her improve her relations with Ruby. But in order for that to happen, she would have to get leave time and get Ruby to go somewhere with her.

 ''Hey team!" Ruby burst into the barracks suddenly. "We've got leave for the next two days! We still have to prepare and be on standby, but we can do that tomorrow." She turned to Weiss who seemed to be trying her hardest to disappear into her bunk. "Weiss do you have any plans?"

 "What?! I uh... I... do not have any... I mean..." Weiss struggled to find the right words and thus ended up just staring at Ruby, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

 "Well," Yang spoke up as Weiss seemed to have been frozen by terror, "Blake and I were planning to go to a French town nearby today, some of the reserves were setting up a movie screening at the theater there. Maybe you two could come with?"

 "Sounds good to me!" Ruby chirped, "What about you Weiss, are you in?"

 "Shouldn't we stay on the base and prepare for the operation?" Weiss asked now that she had gotten the time to recover, "I thought you said they wanted us on standby."

 Ruby got slightly annoyed, "If it'll make you feel better we could prepare everything today and just go tomorrow, but Ironwood said that we could use this leave time and I for one intend to make the most of it."

 Weiss considered what Ruby said. This was the opportunity she had just been hoping for, she could finally get closer to Ruby like she always wanted. She could final start on the track to the relationship she longed for.

 ''Would the movie screening still be up tomorrow?" Weiss asked Yang.

 "I'm not sure, but if it's not then that would be a cat-astrophe!"

 "Yang no." Blake butt in without looking up from her book.

 Weiss realized that she had to make her move soon and a movie would be the best chance to do so. Considering this and the fact that the movie may not be playing tomorrow, she decided to go for it.

 "Alright, if Ruby is going then I'll go. We can get prepared tomorrow and make use of the leave time we've been given."

 Ruby smiled from ear to ear, "Great! When do we head out Yang?"

 "We've got a couple of hours before the next transport heads out."

 "In that case we should start getting ready. I call first shower!" Ruby said while dashing out of the room towards the showers without waiting for anyone to retort.

 Weiss smiled as she was reminded of the times Ruby had done that back in the tank academy.

 

\-------------------------------------------------

 

Weiss had been walking towards the showers, when suddenly she saw a blur rush past and into the shower room.

 ''Hey!" Weiss cried, "I was next!"

 After hearing some shuffling and the water turning on Weiss heard a muffled replied, "Sorry but I did get here first."

 Weiss paused, she could have sworn that the voice sounded familiar. "Wait... Ruby is that you?"

 "... nooo..."

 "Ruby I know that's you, I thought I told you that I was going to shower first!"

 "You were to slow and I don't want to pull rank but I am a 1st Lieutenant sooo..."

 Weiss was furious. She had told Ruby that she was going to shower first and then she just charges in before Weiss got a chance? Weiss was contemplating barging in herself and giving Ruby a piece of her mind. _Maybe I'll even join her for a bit..._ Weiss thought as a blush grew across her face.

 A moment later, Ruby exited the shower looking happy and rejuvenated. Then she remembered what had done and sheepishly grinned towards Weiss. "Sorry," she said while rubbing the back of her head with her right hand. "I just really needed to relax and have a nice shower after everything that happened today."

 Weiss looked over Ruby for a bit, a scowl plainly visible. However, Ruby continued to smile with large silver puppy dog eyes, looking for acceptance of her apology. Weiss was defeated. She sighed saying, "It's fine just don't do it again."

 Ruby smiled widely, "Thanks, you're the best friend ever!"

 However, Ruby continued to take the hot water that came with the first shower time and time again. Eventually Weiss had given up and started expecting to go second. After that she had realized the cold water was preferable to her anyways.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Weiss continued to smile lost in memories as Yang finished getting ready. Since she and Blake had already been planning on going to the movie screening both Blake and Yang had already  nearly been ready. It was only after they witnessed the awkward exchange between Ruby and Weiss that Blake had silently urged Yang into inviting them.

 Back when Blake had first met Ruby and Weiss she had noticed that there was something between them. As time went on she began to suspect that they had feelings for each other. When Blake had brought it up to Yang, she had only laughed and said that was unlikely as the two would get into arguments rather often. Yet as the days went on and their crew grew closer, even Yang began to notice a change in Weiss' demeanor. Weiss was being nicer and more shy around Ruby and Yang started to notice the way Weiss and Ruby would shoot longing glances toward each other when the other was not looking.

 Yang had taken a liking to Weiss and though she would readily defend her baby sister against any threat, she felt that Weiss also had her sister's best interests at heart and agreed to invite them to the movie screening. Blake had also come up with a plan that she hoped would help Ruby and Weiss get over their shyness. Blake and Yang would get Ruby and Weiss to go to the movie screening with them, but they would then leave early. Partially because they had more planned than just the movie, and partially because they felt that getting the two alone for a while would help them open up to each other about how they felt.

 "Hey, earth to Weiss!" Yang called out.

 "Hmm?" Weiss seemed to be coming out of a trance as she focused on Yang.

 "Ruby's probably done or about to be done if you want to start getting ready. Make sure you bring your 'A' game for your date." Yang stated with a wink causing Weiss to turn a turnip red color.

 "Yang behave." Blake told her partner as she lowered the book she had been reading.

 Weiss then got her clothes and left the barracks for the showers. She stopped just outside  and looked around taking in the scenery. Soldiers were moving equipment, practicing marching, and others were heading towards the bar for a night of fun.

 "Hey Weiss!" Ruby called as she approached from the direction of the showers. "Sorry, I know, I know, you were supposed to go first."

 Weiss smiled, "It's fine. I'll meet back up with you and the others in a bit." She then headed off towards the showers as Ruby entered the barracks.

 Sometime later when the transport arrived, RWBY's crew was ready and climbed on ready to  head to the movies. Each person had a plan for how the night would go and were preparing to make the night a memorable one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thanks for the read!


	3. A Night on the Town

The troop transport hit a bump jostling everyone around for half a second. Yang and Blake sat on the left, talking excitedly to each other about their lives before the war. Ruby sat next to Weiss on the right of the transport, in silence, but both of them were happy to be spending time with each other nonetheless. The whole crew had dressed up for the night by donning their class A uniforms, which consisted of the tan dress shirt and tie and olive green trousers and blouse. Ruby and Weiss however, also had their traditional olive green skirts on over their trousers, combat skirts as they liked to call them.

 The truck traveled along a windy road that had been covered with a layer of snow. Due to the  poor weather that had recently developed, the sky had already grown dark by the time they reached the town. As RWBY's crew jumped off the transport, they took a moment to take in their surroundings. The town was larger than most others in the area. A cluster of about twelve buildings made up the town center, with several smaller buildings at different distances around them. Farm houses could be seen off in the distance, their owners having turned in for the night and everything was covered in snow from the previous night.

 As team RWBY moved further into the town they could see the theater surrounded by a large group of infantry. It was then that they noticed, the "theater" was actually a huge tent that had been set up with a projector and screen. Still, it was better than nothing.

 Yang stepped in front of the group as they got closer to the theater. "Alright guys Blake and I are going to head to the cafe just around the corner, we'll meet up with you two later."

 "Wait," Weiss took on a questioning look, "I thought you two were going to watch the movie with us?"

 "We were but the ride over here took longer than we expected and we wanted to get dinner from this cafe before they closed, I heard they had killer croissants."

 "It's fine Weiss," Ruby cut in before Weiss could respond, "It'll give us some time to bond one on one." She had a plan to follow through on and Yang and Blake leaving fit  into it perfectly.

 Weiss considered this for a minute, "Alright, fine. Ruby and I will meet up with you here once the movie is over."

 Ruby and Weiss waved goodbye as they went towards the movie tent. Everyone who had been waiting outside had dispersed, heading back to their units or heading inside the theater to find their seats. The movie had already started, but luckily there were still seats available towards the back of the tent. Ruby and Weiss took their seats and started to watch the movie that appeared to be some kind of romantic comedy about ninjas.

 Ruby quickly got into the movie, laughing at all of the shenanigans of the main characters. Weiss smiled at how easily Ruby was entertained. Her demeanor was so infectious that Weiss found herself drawn into the cheesiness of the movie along with Ruby. Laughing wholeheartedly alongside her as puns that would make even Yang groan were thrown out to the viewing audience.

 Slowly but surely Ruby grew closer and closer to Weiss. She continued pretending to laugh at the terrible jokes that the movie offered and saw that it was working. Weiss was opening up more and not being her usual serious, cold self. _All I have to do now is wrap my arm around her,_ she thought to herself, _just a little closer..._

 Weiss noticed Ruby reaching behind her slowly. She froze, her heart rate rising to extreme levels. Once Ruby saw her stop laughing and become stiff she freaked out and quickly withdrew her arm. Weiss waited but nothing happened, she turned to look at Ruby who had turned away blushing furiously and muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

  _That dunce!_ Weiss thought as the heat rose in her face, _Do I have to do everything?_ She reached over quickly and wrapped her arm around Ruby causing her to jump slightly at the sudden contact. She turned back towards Weiss with a confused look, her face somehow turning even redder. Silver met azure for several minutes until Weiss couldn't take it anymore. She took back her arm and stood to leave when her sleeve got caught on something. She turned back to see Ruby holding on to her with an iron grip and showing no sign of letting go anytime soon.

 "W-Weiss," Ruby started with a shaky voice, "I... want you to know that... I..."

 Weiss listened intently, waiting for what she hoped Ruby was going to say. Her heart was pounding so fast and loudly that she could swear everyone in the area could hear it. She waited, staring into the silver pools that were showing fear, for the words that she hoped for. Time slowed, everyone around fell away from vision, and the movie seemed to become mute as Ruby finished her thought.

 "...think we should get going. It looks like the movie is just about over and we need to meet up with Blake and Yang."

 Weiss was dumbstruck. Her mouth fell open in shock as she struggled to register what Ruby had just said. It didn't make sense, she could have sworn that Ruby was about to tell her she loved her, or at least liked her. Not tell her that the movie was over and that they should meet up with Blake and Yang. Could it be that she doesn't feel the same way?

  _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ Ruby thought to herself, _Why did I do that? Why can't I just tell her the truth about how I feel?_ She watched as Weiss' expression changed from one of shock to one of sadness. It hurt her to see such sadness plaguing the features of someone she loved. She had to do something about it, could do something about it, but found herself unable to speak, only able to become saddened herself.

 "Ruby... is there anything else that you wanted to tell me?" Weiss held her breath again, hoping that Ruby would take her up on the second chance that she had provided her. Hoping that she was wrong about they way she believed Ruby felt.

 Ruby watched Weiss for a moment, it was now or never. She decided to dive into it rather than wade in any longer. She quickly stood up and started closing the distance between herself and Weiss when someone called out from behind them.

 "Hey! What are you two still doing h-" a First Sergeant stopped mid sentence as he noticed who he was talking to. Once he realized he snapped to attention with a salute, "Ma'am!"

 Ruby stopped suddenly and they both turned to see who had so rudely interrupted them. They reciprocated the salute and Ruby questioned slightly annoyed, "At ease, what is it Sergeant?"

 "Sorry Ma'am, I was making sure that everyone had returned to their units, we got orders to move out." Ruby took a second to look around her and realized that she and Weiss were in fact the only ones left in the theater.

 "Where are you going?"

 "A base nearby that elements of the 4th Armoured are stationed at. Guess they're planning something since several of our companies were ordered to amass there."

 Ruby considered this and figured it was probably best to call it a night, she would have to work with Weiss later, "We have to find some friends, but can you give us a ride to the base?"

 "Yes Ma'am!"

 "Alright we shouldn't be too long, Weiss lets go find Blake and Yang."

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Blake and Yang waved goodbye as they split off from the group heading for the Cafe that Yang had heard of. Blake leaned against Yang holding her arm as they strolled down the street, talking to her about something that Ruby told her earlier.

 "So Ruby told me that Jaune had said something strange earlier."

 "Oh," Yang arched an eyebrow, "what's that?"

 "Apparently he seemed to have an inclination towards a relationship between her and Weiss. You wouldn't happen to know what that was about would you?"

 Yang laughed nervously, "I may have kinda, accidentally, let slip, what I knew about Weiss and Ruby while talking to Pyrrha."

 "Yang! Ruby told me that Jaune seemed to be indicating a strategy she should use to get Weiss."

 "Wait... Jaune? The guy who's oblivious to love?"

 "Yeah well I guess if you flat out tell him directly, then he actually takes notice."

 They had reached the front door of the Cafe and Yang opened the door for Blake laughing at just how right she was about Jaune. They stepped into the warmth of the Cafe and waited for the French lady that was grabbing a couple of menus.

 The hostess approached the two girls, "Bonjour, bienvenue au Cafe de Marie! Table pour deux?"

 "Oui, mercy." Blake answered and pulled Yang along as the hostess lead the way to their table.

 Once they had sat down the lady placed their menus in front of them and began to take their drink orders. "Que feriez- vous deux voulez boire?"

 "Un peu d'eau s'il vous plait, ce que vous a propos de Yang?" Blake turned to Yang with a questioning look. Yang looked on in complete confusion.

 "Uuhhhh, you remember that I don't speak French don't you?"

 Blake's eyes widened, "Oh, sorry I forgot." she turned to the hostess, "Uh, parlez-vous anglais?"

 "Oh, yes, little." the hostess replied with a thick accent.

 "Great, Yang, she asked us what we wanted to drink."

 "Oh, ok then, I'll have a glass of the Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes." Yang said with a smile before turning the menu over to look at the available food.

 "Thank you, I'll get drink for you two then take food order."

 After the hostess left, Blake gave Yang a bothered look until she took notice.

 "What?" Blake just shook her head. "What? Blakey you can tell me."

 Blake flashed Yang a skeptical look but answered her anyways, "Do you really think it's wise to get wine? You know you get angry easily when you start drinking."

 Yang smirked, "We're on leave aren't we? Besides I've got you to keep me in check and  I promise I won't get Yangry."

 Blake smiled, trust Yang to use her own name in a pun. They sat in silence going over the menu when the hostess returned with their drinks and a basket of croissants. Yang tried one of the croissants and was thoroughly delighted that they were the buttery perfection that she heard they were. Blake tried them and admitted that they were good, but felt that the buttery flavor would go much better with a nice salmon.

 The hostess returned once again and took their dinner order. As the hostess left, Blake took a minute to simply stare at Yang. She loved the way her golden locks fell around her shoulders. Yang caught her staring and gave her a small wink. "Already, ready to head out?"

 Blake blushed a deep red, "We haven't even eaten yet."

 "We could always get it to go. I've got a reservation at the inn here in town."

 "What about Ruby and Weiss? I thought we were going to meet up with them after their movie ended and head back to the base."

 "I'm sure they won't mind some extra alone time, I know I won't mind spending some 'alone time' with you."

 Blake rolled her eyes, "We'll see. I still think we should at least let them know about the change in plans."

 Just then the hostess came with their food, a catfish for Blake and filet mignon for Yang. Blake and Yang graciously thanked the hostess and began to dig into their food. Enjoying the savory flavor that the exquisite cuisine provided. They were just finishing up and looking to pay when Ruby and Weiss entered looking for them.

 "Hey guys!" Ruby called out, "I got us a ride back to the base."

 "Actually Ruby, Blake and I were planning on staying here for the night. We were just going to catch a transport early tomorrow so we can still help with getting RWBY ready for action."

 "What are you guys going to do?"

 Yang smirked and squinted her eyes, talking in a low voice, "Don't worry about it, we've got some plans."

 "Eww, gross." Ruby said shaking her head and cringing "You better be back really early. We still have to fix up the engine so that it runs more smoothly."

 "I promise that we will be back to the base by tomorrow night."

 "No Yang, I'll give you until ten in the morning! We need to get everything in order."

 "Gotcha we'll be there by sundown tomorrow."

 Ruby started to get upset, "Yang!" Yang started laughing uncontrollably while Blake told Ruby that she would make sure they caught the first transport back to base that they could. Once Ruby was satisfied that Yang had gotten the idea through her head that they needed to return early, she turned to Weiss, "Come on, let's go meet up with that Sergeant."

 Blake and Yang paid for their food and followed Ruby and Weiss outside. The team walked out of the Cafe, but something seemed off. As they looked around infantry men were running around, grabbing gear and piling into the backs of troop trucks and M3 halftracks. A Corporal was running by dropping ammo as he raced to regroup with his platoon.

 "Corporal, calm down!" Ruby called out as the Corporal was trying to pick up his ammo belt. "What's going on?"

 The Corporal was still fumbling with his gear as he tried to salute and answer Ruby's question. "Ma'am! We're being redeployed, all I know is that my CO said we were under attack."

 "Well I know the 106th was attacked in the Ardennes, did something else happen?"

 "I don't know Ma'am, you'd have to talk to my CO."

 "And who is that?"

 "Lieutenant Church. He's right over there by the command halftrack." The Corporal indicated towards the M5 halftrack that was closest to them.

 "Right, carry on Corporal." Ruby lead the way as the rest of the crew followed her to the command halftrack. She approached a scraggly looking 2nd Lieutenant that was talking to  a Sergeant.

 "Tucker I told you not to fraternize with the French women."

 "Hey dude, it's not my fault that the ladies can't handle my persona." Sergeant Tucker replied.

 "Hey!" Ruby interrupted, "What's going on here?"

 Lieutenant Church turned to Ruby, ''Who the hell are you?"

 "Excuse me!" Weiss spoke up, "You're talking to a superior officer! You should be saluting and treating her with the utmost respect!"

 "Yeah whatever, what do you want?"

 Ruby had to hold back Weiss as she tried to reach for her Webley, "Look we just wanted to know what was going on, we heard from one of your Corporals that there was an attack recently."

 "Eh, these green recruits don't know anything, they start rumors and panic at the mention of combat, mainly because they have no experience. We're just mobilizing to the front, I only know of an attack on the 106th Infantry to the North."

 "Nothing else?"

 "Uh, no. Shouldn't you have all the answers, since you are higher rank?"

 Weiss unholstered her Webley, ''Why you-"

 Ruby quickly grabbed Weiss and started to pull her away, "We should get going. Come on guys."

 Sergeant Tucker then spoke up, "Hey, baby I'll show you something to 'come on', bow chicka bow wow." Weiss was shooting daggers at Tucker while Ruby and Yang struggled to pull her away and keep her Webley from sighting him in.

 Yang could just see the way the situation would be painted in the news reels. 'Here we see the rare Schnee out in the wild, defending her potential mate from another advancement. She's one of the most dangerous creatures in all the world, one flick of a finger and you're dead... our reporters will now attempt to poke her with a stick.'

 Once they had gotten some distance Ruby took the time to calm Weiss down. "It's alright, Weiss, I don't really care if Church follows protocol or if some dirt bag hits on me."

 Weiss was still seething with anger, "Well you should, you're a Major! You shouldn't let a measly 2nd Lieutenant and Sergeant talk to you that way!"

 "It's fi-"

 "No it's not! It's a matter of honor and I won't let someone I care about be disrespected in such a way!"

 "Oh?" Yang perked up a large grin on her face, "Did something happened while you two were alone?"

 The pair turned a bright shade of red, Ruby smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head, Weiss looked away, suddenly very quiet.

 "No, nothing really happened." Ruby slowly stated as she shot a sad glance towards Weiss.

 Blake snapped her fingers and handed Yang five dollars.

 Ruby took on a confused look, "What was that?"

 "Oh, Blake and I had a bit of a bet going. It's not really important."

 Weiss scowled at her, "What do you mean? Why..." She then realized what Blake and Yang had bet on, her eyes widened for a second before returning to her signature scowl.

 "What?" Ruby was still trying to make sense of the situation, "Weiss do you know what this is all about?"

 "What?!" Weiss jumped remembering that Ruby was standing beside her, "It's nothing, just a couple of people being rude."

 "It was all in good fun, don't get all butt hurt about it." Yang told Weiss.

 "You shouldn't do that anyways it's mean and-"

 "Guys come on, we don't need to fight over whatever this is." Ruby cut in. "Let's just push past it and figure out what the plan is, Yang you said that you and Blake were going to stay here for the night right?"

 "Yeah."

 "Ok then, Since there isn't anything else going on, we'll just stick to the original plan. Weiss and I will head back to the base meet up with you two tomor-" Ruby stopped as everyone heard something strange in the distance. Soldiers that had been moving about stopped in their tracks, they stopped carrying supplies, stopped talking, stopped climbing into the truck and halftracks. The whole area grew deathly silent as everyone listened in to the strange noise in the distance. A low rumble grew louder and louder until it was a deafening screech. "Hit the dirt!" Everyone jumped to the ground just as the first rocket hit, plunging the world around them into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the terrible French. Google translate is a God send... and also very bad at proper translation. For anyone who hasn't seen yet or wants to see, I have uploaded visuals on what the RWBY and JNPR tanks look like to chapter one. Thank you for taking the time to read!


	4. A Surprise Offensive

 Ruby stood in formation. Weiss, Blake, and Yang standing to her left. Pyrrha standing to her right and the rest of JNPR's crew was behind her in the second platoon. Ruby smiled widely, unable to keep the emotion from her face as the officer in front of the platoon proudly finishing the graduation speech. It had been a long four months, but here they were, the crews of RWBY and JNPR were now part of the 4th Armoured Division. Dismissed for the last time, everyone cheered throwing their covers into the air. Ruby turned to Weiss as Blake and Yang started off towards the barracks.

 "We did it!" Ruby happily told Weiss, "I can't believe it! Did you ever think we would be here now?"

 Weiss thought about it, "To be honest, I did think there was no way anyone could get here... for a bit. Though I had no doubt that we would eventually make it."

 "So we've got a week before we need to report to our new Division, what should we do to celebrate?"

 "If you want we could go into the city, I'm not really sure what they have around here but I'm sure there's something that we could do for fun."

 Ruby smiled, suggesting that they head to the city the next day for a night of fun. Weiss agreed and they both rested the rest of the day, looking forward to the next night. The next night never came however, as that night everyone was woken up and placed on a train bound for New York.

 In basically no time at all team RWBY found themselves on a transport bound for England. They stared out across the Atlantic uncertain of what was ahead. They had joined the war effort too late to see action in Africa or the D-Day landings, but from what they could tell there was still some fight left in the German Wehrmacht. Thankfully the seas had been secured for some time and with the implementation of the radar, the German U-boat attacks were no longer any real threat.

 The team landed in Liverpool and were again quickly transferred to another military base where several new recruits were amassing before being redeployed with their proper units. After a quick two day rest, the team found themselves on the move again. They had been assigned to the 3rd Army's 4th Armoured Division.

 "Welcome to your new home!" Their commanding officer told them as they arrived at the 4th Armoured's Charlie base. "Here in the 4th Armoured we expect you to operate at the best of your capabilities. Granted none of you have actually been in combat but that's why you had combat training. If you rely on your training and don't freeze up then you won't have any issues."

 "Now, let's see..." The commander reviewed a list that was held on a clipboard he was holding. "1st Lieutenant Rose."

 "Here, sir!" Ruby snapped to attention.

 "Your crew has been assigned to Tiger tank 205. It's been heavily damaged and rendered just about useless, which is perfect for your green crew. We also have a special experimental mechanism that we've been wanting to test and your crew just volunteered to test it. Thank you for that we hardly ever get those nowadays."

 Ruby was used to being told what to do from basic training so it didn't really bother her that their crew seemed to be in the worst position already. The commanding officer continued to assign the rest of the crews tanks that had been recovered from multiple past skirmishes. After everyone had been assigned to a tank they were taken to the repair garage to see their new rides. Team RWBY approached Tiger tank 205. Engineers were crawling all over the tank, welding the holes, installing modules and some strange mechanism into the turret. Some years earlier the U.S. had captured Tiger tank 131. They reverse engineered it and were able to learn its strengths and weaknesses, plus how to repair any others that they were able to capture.

 Ruby stepped forward observing the repairs. "Wow, so this is our new tank."

 Weiss made a sour face. "Really? They had to give us the most broken down tank?"

 "Aww come on Weiss, it's not that bad. Besides nobody else got assigned to such an amazing tank."

 "The reputation of the Tiger means nothing if it's been turned into a piece of garbage."

 Ruby gasped, ''How could you say that about such a beautiful machine? Every tank is as unique and precious as a person. Speaking of which we should give it a name." The team considered this for a moment.

 "Oh I got it!" Yang put her hands up in a mock picture frame design, "Picture it, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang of the Puma!"

 "What?" Blake turned to face Yang completely confused. "Why Puma?"

 "Think about it, it was a tiger and then we captured it, so it would have to be different, but also similar, it's a puma!"

 Weiss shook her head, "I don't think I like that very much. Any other ideas?"

 "What about RWBY?" Ruby looked around the group with a wide smile waiting for their opinion.

 Yang arched an eyebrow, "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

 Ruby was taken aback, "What? No!"

 "Then what's your suggestion?"

 "I just said, we should call it RWBY."

 "What like just your name?" Blake spoke up. "Isn't that a bit egotistical?"

 "Ok, first of all I have no idea what that means, secondly I meant RWBY as in the first letter of each of our names."

 Weiss looked at Ruby skeptically, "My name starts with a 'W' not a 'U'."

 "I know that, it's just being pronounced as a 'U'."

 The crew considered the new name. Yang and Blake quickly agreed that the name would work and after some more convincing Weiss also agreed. Ruby happily looked over the RWBY one more time as the rest of the crew left for the barracks. She could already see the amazing missions they would go on. Once RWBY was back in working order it would be the best tank in the 4th Armoured and she couldn't wait to show what her crew could do.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

 Ruby opened her eyes, the only thing she could see was white. She tried to get a bearing of her surroundings and remember what had happened. She lifted her head off the ground and looked around. From what she could see she had landed in a snow bank in front of a building that hugged the main road. The snow was deep enough to nearly cover her entirely. To her right she could see Weiss. Weiss was facing Ruby but was unconscious and had blood covering the left side of her face. Ruby rolled onto her back and looked to see where Blake and Yang were. She could see Yang covering Blake with her body as they were both lying next to a troop truck. She pulled herself up and crawled over to Weiss, she started shaking her lightly trying to wake her up.

 " _Ruby!_ " Ruby turned back towards Yang. She could only just hear her, almost as if Yang was calling to her from a mile away. It was then that she realized her ears were ringing, a deafening sound that became louder as she took notice. She watched as Blake and Yang crawled over to her and Weiss, calling out to her.

 Yang grabbed Ruby and started questioning her, "Ruby are you okay?!" She turned to Blake for a second, "Blake go check on Weiss! Ruby come on answer me, are you okay!"

 Ruby slowly started to focus, the ringing in her ears going away as she heard Yang. "Weiss! Is she okay? She wasn't responding to me earlier, you have to check on Weiss!"

 "Ruby calm down, Blake is checking on her, what about you are you alright?"

 "I think so... my head is hurting... what happened?"

 "Well if I had to guess I would say some German forces have slipped through the lines. That sounded like a screaming mimi."

 Just then someone called out from somewhere deeper in the town, "They're trying to get us zeroed! Spread out! Spread out!"

 Yang reached under Ruby and helped her to her feet, "Can you walk?"

 Ruby took a step on shaky legs but managed to stay upright, "Yeah I should be fine, help Blake carry Weiss I'll see if I can get us a working ride back to base."

 "First things, first... we need to get some cover. If that person is right then we can expect-"

 More rocket sounds could be heard filling the night sky with a terrifying scream. Yang's eyes grew wide as she quickly ran over to help carry Weiss, "Move!"

 Blake and Yang picked up Weiss, as they had been taught in basic, and carried her along as the crew ran for cover. A rocket landed behind them destroying the truck they had been standing next to moments earlier. Up ahead was the Cafe Marie, Ruby thought that it would be the best place to use for cover and directed the rest of her team. Pulling ahead she was nearly to the door when the walls and door seemed to come out of the building and meet her halfway. Everything disintegrated as though it were made of sand, sending tiny pieces of shrapnel in all directions. Ruby was thrown backwards onto the ground, the air ripped from her lungs as the flames swallowed all the oxygen around. She gasped for air, struggling to regain her breath and turned back to see what happened to the rest of her crew.

 Blake and Yang had also been knocked down by the explosion. Weiss having been brought back to consciousness by the pain laid in between them, crying out. Screams could just barely be heard over the bombardment, echoing through the streets as wounded soldiers cried for medics or their mothers. Ruby quickly ran over, helping the rest of her team up.

 "Come on! We have to keep moving!" Ruby tried to yell over the roar of incoming rockets.

 Blake and Yang got up and supported Weiss in between them as Ruby, again lead the way, searching for any place that could protect them. They ran past several soldiers lying on the ground, missing limbs and covered in blood, many of them having already paid the ultimate price. Ruby couldn't stop to think about it however, she needed to protect her crew, needed to keep them safe.

 "Over here!" To Ruby's left several soldiers had dropped into a trench that had been dug long ago when the town had been on the front lines. They called to the team, beckoning them to share the safe haven they had found. "Come on! Move it!"

 Ruby turned towards them and ran in their direction, the rest of her team following suit. Ruby was about to jump into the trench when she heard Weiss yelp in pain behind her. She turned and saw that Weiss had stumbled, causing Blake and Yang to collapse with her. Ruby ran back to help. She grabbed Weiss, pulling her along towards the trench as Blake and Yang stood up. The soldiers in the trench called out again.

 "Come on! Let's go- aahh-" Ruby froze still holding onto Weiss. Where the soldiers had just been moments ago was nothing more than a smoking crater. The only proof that anyone had just been in front of her was the blood curdling scream of pain that was cut short. Its sound waves still ringing in Ruby's ears as she tried to make sense of what she had just seen. She felt her mind slipping. She wanted to scream. There was nowhere they could go, nowhere that they would be safe. _This is why I didn't join the infantry_ , she thought to herself bitterly. With no safe place that could protect them from the onslaught, Ruby just dropped to the ground right where she was.

 "Keep your heads low!" She called out to her team. "Hold on! We'll make it through this!" She had no idea if the others heard her over the continual bombardment, but she could only pray that they did the same as her and that her words would prove to be true. Explosions all around caused the earth to shake violently. Several times Ruby found herself breathless as a rocket landed extra close. She kept her eyes closed and her mouth clenched shut as the explosions rattled her head. When she did open her eyes for a few seconds to look around, she could see fire, dirt, and bricks fly overheard, covering her in debris. The whole scene reminded her of the Fourth of July celebrations back in the states.

 Then, as suddenly as it began, the bombardment stopped. The screaming mimis fell silent. Ruby slowly opened one eye and then the other, her teeth still clenched shut, and was finally able to look around properly. The buildings around them had been devastated. Several had blown out walls and caved in roofs, one had even been completely turned to rubble. Ruby got to her feet and turned just in time to see Weiss, Blake, and Yang doing the same, Weiss struggling more so than the other two.

 The cries of the wounded were now clearly audible as the only other noise was the crackling of fires that had started. Medics ran back and forth through the remains of the town helping who they could. They tended to the wounded soldiers and civilians that had been hit. However due to the lack of medical supplies and the fact that there was no hospital in the town, they were forced to abandon the more severely wounded people. Those people would either die of their wounds or if they were lucky, more medical supplies, medics, and doctors would arrive in the form of reinforcements.

 Ruby could feel her stomach twist into knots at the sight. She needed to help these people, needed to avenge those soldiers and civilians that had died. She caught sight of a recon jeep moving through the town square.

 She stepped in front of the jeep causing the driver to slam on the brakes. "You are going to take us to Charlie base now." she ordered the driver. The driver responded with a quick yes ma'am and ran around to help out Weiss who was struggling to stay standing. To save space and because Weiss was still wounded she laid on the stretcher that covered the hood of the jeep. Blake and Yang dropped into the back seats and Ruby took the passenger seat. Then they were off towards Charlie base where RWBY was still parked.

 They drove in silence, the driver's questions about what had happened being ignored by the crew. They were in no mood to recall the horrific scenes of the wounded and dead that they had left behind. The only noise was the occasional groan of pain from Weiss whenever they hit a sizable bump in the road. Ruby meanwhile was thinking to herself, a rare look of anger holding the normally happy features.  _I'm going to make those nebelwerfer crews pay for what they have done. You can bet on that_. As they approached the base flashes could be seen across the clouds that covered the night sky. There would be no rest for the weary tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone interested in what a "screaming mimi" sounds like should check out this video:  
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0fZ_ySyXA4s
> 
> And so it begins! Will the team be able to make it through the night? Find out next time on RWBY's Crew! Thanks again for reading!


	5. A New German Tank

The base was lit up like a Christmas tree. Fires burned throughout as artillery poured down, tracers flew from MG bunkers into the tree line nearby, and tanks rolled out of the gates alongside infantry to meet the new threat. Ruby ordered the driver to take them directly to the tank depot. Once they had passed the now abandoned front gates, they were met with an all too familiar sight. Infantry and tank crewmen were running about getting ammunition, medical supplies or fuel. Others were trying to find cover or curling up in the corner, screaming as the artillery landed all around. Still others searched for medics, struggling to hold on to their lives as they begged for a medic's help. The jeep driver drove into the tank depot and stopped in front of the RWBY. The crew jumped off eager to get into the fight.

 Weiss' face was still bloody and after taking a step it was now clear that at some point she had twisted her ankle. However, she refused to receive medical attention. "There are others way worse than me," she argued, "I don't really need to walk around once I'm in the tank, and besides you need a radio operator. Just get me something to clean my face, I'll be fine."

 With that the crew got her some wipes and bandages from the first aid kit. Weiss cleaned herself up and bandaged the left side of her face the best that she could. Ruby didn't feel that it was really enough and they didn't really have any way to make a splint for Weiss' ankle, but there was no time. The fight was raging on outside and they needed to get their tank into the action to help. So Blake helped Weiss onto the tank and into the radio operators seat. She then climbed into her seat as Ruby and Yang climbed into the fighting compartment.

 Ruby primed the fuel and started the engine. Weiss started up the radio checking systems to ensure that it was working properly. Blake took over the engine controls from Ruby and in no time the RWBY was on the move out of the garage. Yang primed the auto loader asking Ruby for the ammo type, ready to start loading at a moment's notice. Weiss got their crew into the radio net that had been setup when the fighting started.

 Once she got informed by Weiss that the radio was ready Ruby gave their situation report, "This is Tiger tank RWBY reporting in, we're currently exiting the motor pool and heading for the front gate." Ruby's radio crackled to life as several other tank commanders reported their situations. The German Army had launched a surprise attack on the base that started with screaming mimis. Not long after that infantry attacked under the cover of smoke, supported by halftracks and some heavy armor. The artillery barrage had started not long after as the Germans tried to weaken the bases defenses. Ruby listened to everyone as they passed base personnel that were trying to quell the fires before they reached the fuel reserves. Then she heard a familiar voice on the radio.

 "Good to hear from you Ruby," Ren responded over the radio. "We can really use your help on the Northern flank. We've engaged mostly infantry but there are a few tanks I've never-"

 "Oh is that RWBY?" Nora suddenly called out loud enough for the radio to pick her up. "Tell them I said hi! Where were they? Hey, Ren ask them where they were. Were they sleeping this whole time? No that would be silly, wouldn't it? Oh maybe they were having-"

 "Nora! Focus on driving, we're pulling into the enemy frontlines ahead of everyone else."

 "I know. I was trying to do that. How else are you supposed to run over enemies?"

 Ruby could hear someone tell Nora something, most likely Jaune had stopped helping Pyrrha fire long enough to rein her in. Nora spoke again, a frown clearly audible, "Okay. I guess I'll pull back."

 "Alright, we're on our way to support you! Yang JNPR reported mostly infantry on their flank so load HE. Weiss be ready on the MG as well." Ruby started loading the coaxial  machine gun as Yang loaded the three large HE shells into the autoloader.

 The tank rolled through the base. Infantry men that watched it drive by were struck with new found morale as they got up and followed the RWBY out of the front gates to engage the enemy. Three Shermans from third platoon, commanded by Young, Walker, and Lopez, pulled up alongside the RWBY as it exited the base. Their commanders reported in to Ruby, asking her for orders as they had lost their commander. She told them that they were going to the Northern flank to aid in the defense there. They all took a defensive posture and drove slower than normal to allow the infantry to keep pace.

 "Okay team this is it." Ruby peered out of the viewports in the cupola trying to get a fix on the enemy forces as they passed over a frozen ridge. A few taps rang through the tank as enemy small arms fire bounced off the tank's hull. "There! Yang 325 degrees! Enemy machine gun team!"

 Yang swung the turret over the right corner of the tank to match up with the heading that Ruby had called out. She looked through the sight and spotted the machine gun team in question. Their blisteringly fast fire continued to hit their tank, but the MG 42's armor piercing ammo couldn't stand up to the Tiger. She lowered the gun and fired the first shell. The tank shuddered as the round flew down range. It struck the ground with a loud explosion, sending dirt and snow high into the air. The empty shell was ejected into the catch as the next shell was automatically loaded. The fire had stopped but as the dust settled Ruby could see that Yang had fired to low. The machine gun team was scrambling to pack up the gun and run away.

 "Increase elevation by two degrees and fire again! Weiss open up with the MG 34!"

 Yang pulled the gun up and fired again while Weiss sprayed the area with the MG. The tracers could be seen flying just past the Germans. One of the machine gun team members grabbed their chest and fell backwards when Weiss adjusted her aim. Then the whole team disappeared as the second round found it's mark leaving a large crater.

 "Yeah!" Yang did a quick fist pump.

 "Good shot Yang!" Ruby looked around to see how the rest of the tanks under her command were doing. She could see that at some point 1st Lieutenant Young's Sherman had been destroyed. Young was cowering with another tanker behind his tank as infantry pushed up to help them. 2nd Lieutenant Walker's Sherman was to their right still advancing, its machine guns ripping through the German infantry that were trying to flank. Captain Lopez had fallen a bit behind but was taking Young's place in the assault. The JNPR was still nowhere to be seen and Ruby was beginning to fear that something bad had happened.

 With a loud smacking sound that caused the crew to shake around, a panzerfaust round struck the left side of their tank, failing to penetrate. Ruby looked over to see that a German grenadier squad had closed the distance between their tank and the main German frontline at the edge of the trees. They used several shell holes to avoid the American rifleman and Lopez's tank. A halftrack drove up behind the grenadiers. It carried a panzerschreck team that was aiming for the RWBY out of the open top. "Blake pull us back! We need to stay away from those grenadiers, Yang there's a half track to our left, 65 degrees! Nail it before they fire the panzerschrek."

 Weiss and Ruby fired the MG 34s at the enemy grenadiers that were trying to close the distance even more. Yang swung the turret to the left and fired the last shell at the halftrack that was emerging from the tree line. The round hit and penetrated the thin armor. It exploded inside, sending enemy soldiers and metal out of the open top. A fire engulfed the halftrack cooking the drivers and soldiers that survived the initial explosion.

 Another panzerfaust round came from the grenadiers, it flew past and struck Walker's Sherman to the right of the RWBY. Ruby could hear their screams over the radio as the petrol lit up. They tried to escape but were already on fire by the time they managed to exit the tank. The American rifleman that had been using it for cover scattered as they tried to avoid the flames. Suddenly the whole crew was tossed to the side as the Sherman's ammo rack exploded. Pieces of metal could be heard and felt striking the hull as the crew quickly recovered from the shock.

 "RWBY this is JNPR, we're coming at you from the South to support." Jaune called over the radio.

 Ruby picked up the radio still reeling from the explosion, ''Copy that, keep your eyes peeled we just lost Walker's tank to a panzerfaust."

 "Anyone make it out?"

 Ruby looked to the burning tracks which used to be a Sherman tank. Those crewmen that had made it out were still burning in the snow alongside the tracks, completely unmoving . She silently looked on, unable to speak for a moment. The silence was enough of an answer for Jaune, "Hey don't worry about it. Just focus on the battle."

 He was right, Ruby shook her head and got a quick situation report. Weiss continued to fire on enemy infantry that was foolish enough to approach from the front, Yang was just about done loading another clip of HE shells, and Blake was pivoting the hull to help Weiss hit the targets that were out of her firing arc.

 The JNPR appeared over a ridge behind RWBY, accompanied by two Sherman "Easy Eights", the Rage and the Kraut Killer. They were completely covered in infantry that had caught a ride into battle on them. The infantry jumped off the tanks and ran for cover when the German fire switched to them. Some of rifleman stayed on the tanks and manned the .50 cal machine guns that were mounted on top of the turrets. The large caliber bullets tore through German soldiers and halftracks.

 At the sight of the reinforcements, the German grenadiers started to pull back. They ran for the cover of the tree line as American infantry pushed the advantage. American rifleman charged forward, some of them getting shot down by the MG 42's that covered the grenadiers. The rifleman used dead enemies and allies as cover while they searched for something better. They opened fire and killed several grenadiers that picked the wrong time to make a run for it. A rifle grenade found its mark and knocked out the machine gun, giving the rifleman some much needed breathing room. Ruby watched, firing at what she could along with Weiss and Yang. Three more shells were fired from the autoloader, blowing away entire squads time and time again. Yang was in the middle of reloading another clip of HE shells when a horrifying screech sounded through the battlefield.

 Lopez's Sherman tank that had drifted far to the RWBY's left exploded. The turret popped off the turret ring, and the infantry that were using it for cover were slaughtered by the flying metal shards. Out of the back of the woods came a large rumble. Ruby looked through the viewports to see several trees fall over. She couldn't tell what was approaching but Jaune spoke up on the radio.

 "That's the tank Ren warned you about earlier! We need to pull back!"

 "We can take him, come on team!" Ruby told her team. She was determined to push their advantage and keep up their momentum. "Yang switch to AP shells! Blake get us moving so we're harder to hit!"

 "No! Ruby you can't take on that tank! It's too strong!" Jaune was sounding really desperate. "Whatever it is we can't pen it's armor!"

 "That's because of your gun," Ruby said as she helped Yang switch their ammo type to speed up the process, "we have a bigger gun and I'm not going to back down from a fight."

 Just then, the enemy tank in question broke through the tree line. It's camouflage making it hard to see in the low light of the flares that illuminated the battlefield. It had no turret. Its gun protruded far out over the hull from a large super structure that took the place of the turret. Huge, wide tracks supported the monstrosity as it slowly trudged out of the woods. Its hull showcased a 45 degree angle on the upper part with a similar extreme angle for the lower glacis. Its crew spotted the RWBY as it drove horizontally across its gun arc. The massive tank stopped and aimed the gun in front of the RWBY's path.

 Ruby realized what was about to happen. "Blake stop!" Blake slammed on the brakes just as the enemy tank fired. The round flew right where the RWBY would have been missing entirely and struck the ground several yards away. Ruby and Yang finished loading the AP shells. Blake reversed as Yang swung the turret over the right side of the tank and sighted in the unfamiliar threat.

 "Where do I shoot?" Yang questioned.

 Ruby thought about it as she looked through the view ports, "I don't know, we weren't briefed on this tank. Just fire somewhere!"

 Yang fired the first shell at the tank's superstructure. The round travelled through the air and struck its target. However, it bounced off with a loud _thwack_. Ruby and Yang watched in disbelief as the shell floated for several seconds, spinning in the air before falling into the snow next to the tank. The auto loading mechanism loaded the next shell and Yang aimed for another part of the tank. The enemy crew was still reloading when Yang fired the second shot. Another round went down range, hitting the tank on the crease between the upper and lower frontal armor plates. Ruby watched in horror as the round split in two, half flying up and clipping the top of the superstructure, the other half planting itself firmly in the snow. They had again failed  to penetrate the enemy tank with their AP ammo.

 Ruby was now starting to panic. "Blake pull us back!"

 "We'll buy you some time! We're going in to distract it!" Jaune called over the radio as the JNPR, Rage, and Kraut Killer attempted to flank the behemoth.

 The enemy tank fired again. It's round flew straight at the RWBY, Yang watched as it seemed to fly directly at her. She recoiled as the round crashed into the RWBY pushing the whole tank sideways a few feet through the snow. The round had struck the gun mantle right on the gun's periscope and penetrated slightly, destroying the periscope and wedging itself firmly into the mantle. Luckily it had not fully penetrated. However, when Yang tried to look through the periscope again she found that she couldn't see anything.

 "Ruby we've got a problem! I can't see anything!" Yang called back as she checked other systems to see if they were still functioning. "The periscope is down so I'm firing blind. Also I can't raise or lower the gun, it seems to be stuck on something!"

 Ruby looked out to where the enemy tank was. Either it had lost interest in them or thought that they were dead. In either case it started to reverse and turn to face the JNPR and others. Ruby looked over to them and saw that they were trying to push through the enemy infantry. American rifleman were doing their best to clear the way and keep the enemy panzerfaust and panzerschrecks off the Shermans.

 "Yang load the APCR shells." Ruby remembered that she still had the sights to the coaxial machine gun. "Just put the turret to the degrees I tell you and fire when I say!" She saw that their gun was just to the left of the enemy tank as it continued to turn away from them. Yang loaded the APCR shells. They only had three since they were much more expensive to produce and rarely found in their armory. The enemy tank fired, its round barely missed the JNPR and crushed some riflemen that had been moving up.

 Yang finished placing the last shell into the clip. "Shells loaded!" She planted herself into the gunner's seat and waited for Ruby's orders.

 "Ok, Yang 4 degrees to the right." Yang turned the turret and waited. "Fire!"

 The round shot out of the barrel and flew past the front of the enemy tank. _Damn it!_ Ruby thought, _I forgot to account for the compensation._ The coaxial machine gun was aimed slightly to the left to compensate and have almost the same trajectory as the main gun. This meant that using the machine gun's sights would cause the main gun to aim slightly to the right at longer distances.

 "Yang two degrees to the left!" Yang adjusted the guns positioning and waited again. Ruby sighted in the tank again. It continued to be distracted by the JNPR and wasn't paying them any attention. "Ok... fire!"

 Another shot went down range. This time it flew straight at the enemy tank but landed on the ground just short.

 "Yang raise the gun!"

 Yang turned to Ruby an angry look on her face. "I can't remember! It's jammed!"

 "Wait I've got an idea." Blake called out. She started driving the tank forward. There was a small ridge on the ground that caused the tank to angle upward when she drove onto it. "Try it now."

 Ruby looked back through the machine gun's periscope. Now that the RWBY had fired two shots and moved, the enemy tank started turning back towards them. This was it, this shot had to count or they wouldn't make it. They didn't have time to load another clip and they would be out of APCR shells anyways. Ruby sighted in the tank. From her point of view nothing had changed from the last time they had fired. There was no way of telling if their main gun was on target now. They would just have to risk it. Yang's hand trembled as she waited for the order to fire. Blake and Weiss waited, their breath was shaky and strained as they could only wait to see what happened next. The tank continued turning, everything moved in slow motion as Ruby could only hear the deafening sound of her heart beat. Ruby waited... and waited... then...

 "Fire!" Yang pulled the trigger. The firing pin hit the back of the shell setting of the gunpowder. The round travelled along the barrel and out of the muzzle. It barreled through the air drawing closer to the enemy tank. Closer and closer until it crashed into the front right drive wheel with a deafening clang. Bits of steel splintered off as the wheel was reduced to pile of mangled metal. The track rolled off and the enemy tank stopped turning. Its gun still moved but because it had no turret it couldn't aim at the RWBY or JNPR and their other tank support.

 Ruby watched wide eyed as hope returned to her. "That did it! Its stuck! Yang load a clip of AP, Blake get us on their flank, Weiss keep those Volksgrenadiers off of us!"

 The JNPR, Rage, and Kraut killer still struggled to push through the enemies that blocked their path and take advantage of the situation. Rifleman ran up and assaulted the defending German infantry. RWBY moved on the enemy's right flank and got ready to unload a full clip of molten metal. The Rage then made a move to join the RWBY on the right flank by passing in front of the enemy tank's gun. This proved to be a fatal mistake as the enemy tank crew was still in the fight. The Rage was shot right through the side, leaving a massive hole.

 "Jaune!" Ruby called over the radio.

 "I know! We won't mess up like that. Nora get us around their left flank! Kraut Killer follow us through!" Jaune directed his crew and the last remaining friendly tank.

 The JNPR and Kraut Killer moved around the left side of the tank with infantry support. Finally they got close enough to sufficiently pen the enemies side armor. They started pumping in shots that easily penned and ricocheted about within the tank. Yang finished reloading and Ruby ordered her to open fire. Now that they had a closed the distance and had a large target that couldn't move there was really no need to try and be precise. Round after round punched through the enemy tank's armor.

 Suddenly the armored doors at the rear of the superstructure flew open.  The enemy crew crawled out and jumped off the back of the tank. They made a run for the safety of the woods and German infantry that had now fallen back even further. The crew didn't make it far however, as they were riddled with bullets from American rifleman and tank crews. With the loss of their tank and the scene of the crew being slaughtered, the last remaining German forces ran away, dropping their weapons and gear as they rushed back to a safe distance. The American rifleman pursued them into the woods but the tank crews received new orders over the radio.

 "Attention all tank commanders, report back to base for new orders!"

 Heeding the recall, the RWBY, JNPR, and Kraut Killer turned and drove back to base. As they got closer, Ruby could see that tanks that had counter attacked on other flanks had fared better than they did. For the center and Southern flanks, there were no tanks that were missing from their tank platoons. They entered the base and parked alongside many other tanks that were waiting for their commanders to return.

 "Alright team, I'll be back in a bit, Blake keep the engine running." Ruby climbed out of the tank and ran to catch up with Jaune and several other tank commanders that were entering the command tent. Inside General Ironwood instructed the commanders on their orders individually, the normal formalities having been abandoned since the enemy's attack. Ruby walked up and gave a quick salute.

 "Sir."

 "Major, you're just in time, I was instructing these two Captains that they were now under your command. I was going to have them relay the orders but since you're here I'll just tell you. You and Captains Arc, Peterson, Gomez, and Lieutenant Caboose are going to spearhead our counter offensive."

 Ruby started to get really nervous. "Wait you want me to lead them? As in I'm in command, entirely?"

 Ironwood got slightly confused. "Yes, I would have thought that was obvious."

 "It's just that... I've never actually led a tank company. The closest I've come to actually leading anyone was just now and I couldn't protect the tanks that followed me into battle."

 "Miss Rose, we all make mistakes. I know that your appointment to Major came out of a need rather than an act, but I believe that you have what it takes to take on this responsibility. These tank commander's lives and the lives of their crews are in your hands. Now let's get on to the plan."

 Ruby only half listened to what Ironwood told her. She understood that they were going ahead of the rest of the 4th Armored to punch a hole through any German forces that were defending the Southern flank of their offensive. She understood that they needed to be quick and decisive, most likely not getting any real rest for the next few days. But what she kept getting distracted by was the fact that she had been given a huge responsibility. She constantly feared that she wouldn't be able to protect her own crew from harm, but now she had to worry about four other tank crews as well?

 "Are there any questions or concerns before I dismiss you?" Ironwood's question brought all of Ruby's focus back to reality and away from the hypothetical. Then she remembered that her tank was still damaged.

 "Actually sir, the RWBY is damaged, we took some scrapes from small arms and a couple of panzerfaust shots that took out chunks of armor. More importantly I'm pretty sure there is an enemy round jammed into the turret of our tank."

 "Oh," Ironwood considered this for a moment, "Well I can't very well send you into battle with a messed up tank, so I'll get the engineers to fix up your tank first. However, as soon as it's repaired you must head out. What caused this damage?"

 Ruby shrugged and shook her head. "I have no idea what it's called but it was a new German tank that we haven't seen before."

 "Was it turretless?"

 "Yes sir, it was."

 "Then that would be the Jagdtiger that I've been hearing about."

 Ruby arched an eyebrow, "The Jagdtiger?"

 Ironwood nodded, "Yes the Jagdtiger, weighing just under ten tonnes, 250mm of armor at the front, and bearing a 128mm gun. You're lucky that its round only slightly penetrated. Had it hit anywhere else and penetrated you wouldn't be talking to me right now. I've heard that these and the Tiger IIs or 'King Tigers' have been the main force that attacked our forces in the Ardennes."

 "How are they doing over there?"

 Ironwood's face turned dark. "They're getting torn to pieces. The 99th and 106th Infantry Divisions have just about been wiped out. Luckily the 28th is giving them hell and buying time for others to retreat, but they haven't really recovered since they were nearly depleted either, so I don't know how long they can last. That's why I need you to start racing to their aid as soon as possible. I'll see if I can get you some mechanized infantry support and maybe even another tank company."

 Ruby just about passed out from panic, "For me to lead?!"

 Ironwood glanced at the other commanders before answering Ruby, "Yes, you're the only one that I can count on, now if you'll excuse me I need to get our forces organized so we can start counterattacking full force. You four are dismissed." He paused for a second before adding, "Try to get some rest while you still can."

 As Ironwood turned and walked away to give out more orders and direction, Ruby turned to Peterson and Gomez. "Soo... I'm Ruby a-"

 "How old are you?" Peterson cut in before Ruby could finish.

 "I-I'm twenty-one."

 "Do you have any experience on the battlefield?" The look that Peterson was giving Ruby told her that he probably did not believe the age she had told him.

 "Well... I've taken my crew on multiple patrols. But the most fighting we've really had was just now when we counterattacked."

 Gomez made a sour face as Peterson shook his head. "Great," he said, "a Major with basically no combat experience is going to lead us into battle.'' He turned to Gomez, "Can you say REMF?"

 "Hey!" Jaune angrily walked up to Peterson. "That's enough whether you like it or not, Ruby here is your new commanding officer. The least you could do is show her some respect."

 "Look, I've had officers like her and frankly I've lost more friends than I care to count to their incompetence."

 "Well you don't have to worry about me." Ruby took a step forward. A look of determination on her face. "I won't be like the other commanders, I'll try my best to make sure we all make it through this together."

 Peterson looked at her doubtfully, remembering the way she had reacted when she was told that she would be leading them in the first place. "We'll see. C'mon Gomez, let's get our tanks in order." Gomez and Peterson walked out of the command tent, leaving Ruby and Jaune behind.

 "Hopefully Caboose isn't like them." Ruby thought out loud.

 "Don't worry," Jaune reassured her, "They'll warm up to you once they get to know you. I'm sure of it."

 Ruby smiled. "I remember when I was the one giving you pep talks."

 Jaune chuckled, "Yeah, boot camp was really hard on me. But that's why I know you can be a great leader. I got the motivation to make it through because of you, you just need to transfer that kind of thinking to your position."

 Ruby rolled her eyes and frowned slightly. "Easier said than done." She looked around and saw that most everyone had left to carry out their orders already. "Come on, we need to get ready to leave."

 Just before they exited Ruby remembered something, "Wait, why weren't you on the Northern flank like Ren said?"

 "Oh we kinda started to drift South to help other tanks and avoid that Jagdtiger. At first I thought it was an 88 otherwise I would have warned you about it."

 "Right, next time relay that information better."

 Ruby and Jaune walked out of the tent and towards the place they had left their tanks and crews. To their surprise the whole area was filled with infantry and their halftracks. Ruby spotted Yang standing next to the rest of JNPR's crew off to the side. She came up to talk to her as Jaune returned to his crew.

 "Hey, what happened?" Ruby questioned once Yang was closer.

 "Some MPs told us to move the tank because the infantry was using this area as a staging point. Blake took it to the repair garage and Weiss was taken to the infirmary by a medic."

 "Is she going to be alright?" Ruby was starting to feel really worried and guilty that she had forgotten about Weiss' injuries.

 "She'll be fine, the medic took a look at her and found that she just had a twisted ankle. Her face wasn't so lucky, she took a piece of shrapnel that cut it up. The medic said that there would be a permanent scar, but that other than that she should be fine."

 Ruby calmed down, "That's a relief. Let's go find Blake, I've got to go over some plans with you guys."

 "What about Weiss?"

 "I'll tell her what's going on later, after she gets out of the infirmary. Oh and we need to talk to somebody about getting more APCR shells. I have a feeling that we're going to need a lot of them." With that Ruby and Yang headed off in the direction of the repair garage to find Blake.

 They would only have a few hours at most before they needed to start attacking, but for now they needed rest. The adrenaline rush had subsided and the sun had started to rise, it's brightness just barely visible through the thick cloud cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes one of the most feared German tanks of the war. While only a few actually saw combat, as with many other German tanks, they left their mark. As always thank you for reading! if you could leave a comment on what you think so far that would be greatly appreciated and helpful. Also thank you to everyone who has left comments already. They really help motivate me to continue the story.


	6. The Calm

Ruby rolled onto her side. After leaving Yang with Blake she had returned to the barracks to try and get some sleep. Though with the stress and excitement of the upcoming counteroffensive she found herself utterly unable to slumber. Time and time again as she began to feel tired and started to drift off to sleep she would snap awake when she thought of something that was especially exciting or nerve racking. She only really managed to get an hour of sleep before she got to where she was now.

 Again she turned to her other side and tried to get comfortable. About a minute later she sighed, deciding that maybe doing something would help her exhaust this seemingly unending supply of energy. She jumped off of the top bunk and landed wobbly. The exhaustion being felt in her muscles but still not her brain.

 She looked around to see if anyone else had joined her in getting some rest. She couldn't really see with the low light coming in from the window but she could see that Weiss was back from the infirmary and laying in her bunk, facing the wall. How had she not noticed Weiss entering? She could have sworn that she only closed her eyes for a few seconds. Ruby took a step towards Weiss to see if she was awake. From the way she appeared Ruby deducted that Weiss was in fact sleeping and decided to leave her alone. Instead she made her way towards the desk in between the two bunk beds. She grabbed her rifle and began cleaning it.

 Back in basic Ruby had often found herself in this same situation. Unable to sleep because the excitement of the next day kept her awake. She reminisced in the memories of basic training as her hands went into automatic mode. After cleaning and maintaining her rifle for so long she could basically do it while she was blindfolded, which she did once with Yang as her witness. Being a tanker it would be more convenient to have a pistol, revolver, or a sub machinegun. However, she just loved the way a rifle worked more than any other weapon. So she was able to find a compromise in the M1 Carbine as it was more compact than the standard rifle but still had similar handling characteristics and could sport a scope.

 Ruby sensed something and a second later heard a creaking noise. She turned smiling to see that Weiss had sat up in her bunk and was looking at her with only one eye. Ruby started to freak out until she realized that a bandage covering half of Weiss' face was the culprit for the missing eye. Weiss continued to look at her in silence, her face showing no discernible emotion.

 "Weiss?" Ruby questioned her smile fading, "What's wrong?"

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 _Five hours earlier_...

Weiss found herself being dragged away from the rest of her crew by a medic. Ruby had left for the command tent and Blake was moving the tank as several troop trucks and halftracks took its place. Yang followed them questioning the medic while they made their way across the base. Weiss found herself unable to focus on anything in particular. With the adrenaline leaving her system she was starting to feel the toll of the blood loss she had, her makeshift bandage stained a dark red.

 "Is she going to be alright?" Weiss could hear Yang question the medic.

 "She should be fine. We just need to get the wound on her face cleaned up and sealed to stop the bleeding. From what I can tell it must be a really nasty cut to be causing so much blood loss. As for her ankle it was probably just twisted, I can get her some pain meds and ice but she should consider keeping pressure off as much as possible." The medic had brought them into the infirmary that was still being filled with many wounded soldiers from the battle. With so many forces gathering at the base however, they had found more than enough medics and volunteer doctors from surrounding towns to help out.

 "Given our circumstances I don't really think that can happen." Yang stood to the side while the medic helped Weiss onto one of the cots. "What do you think Weiss? Think you can _cool off_ for a while?" Weiss managed to roll her eyes through her dazed state. She had already heard every snow or ice based pun there was because of her last name but apparently they never got old for Yang. "I'll take that as a 'you already know the answer' and just head back to let the others know. See you in a bit."

 Yang left with a quick wave just as the medic gave Weiss a shot of morphine. She was lost in the relief that came with the pain killer and found herself fast asleep within seconds. When she came to the light from the open flaps told her that it was most likely around noon. However, with cloud cover it wasn't really reliable to guess time based off of the amount of light there was. She looked to her right and could see the medic that had helped her talking to another soldier. She brought her hand to her face, feeling the new bandages and flinching in pain whenever she passed over a sensitive spot on her wound.

 "Ah you're up." Weiss looked back towards the medic. "How are you feeling?"

 Weiss took a second, considering every ache and pain that she had. "I've been better. Though I feel better than I did earlier."

 "That's because earlier you were down quite a bit of blood. I managed to seal up the wound with stitches, replace the bandages, and get you a blood transfusion. You should be ready to go by tomorrow, if you don't strain your ankle that is."

 "Wait... stitches? Am I going to have a scar?"

 The medic looked a bit confused. "Yeah, most likely. Why does it matter?"

 Weiss considered the question for a moment. She was upset because it meant that she was no longer beautiful. To most people it would be no big deal, in fact she would normally think that it was no big deal, but now she could only think of one thing. Ruby. Weiss had wanted to start a relationship with her commander, but now how could Ruby ever like her? She must look hideous and the Schnee family was known for perfection, how could she have a permanent scar in such a prominent place? Of course this medic wouldn't understand, he would only be angry that Weiss was worrying over such petty things when there was much bigger things to worry about.

 "It doesn't matter." Weiss took on her normal cold and calculated tone. "If that is all I'd like to return to my barracks."

 "I don't think that's such a good idea, I want to monitor your condition and make sure you're alrigh-"

 "Look, I feel fine and like you said I should be fine as long as I don't strain my ankle." Weiss interrupted. "I just want to go back to the barracks to figure out what's going on and what my orders are, now if you could help me up I'll be on my way."

 The medic looked unhappy but complied anyways, helping Weiss up off of the cot. She tried taking a step and was able to find an amount of pressure that did not hurt her ankle to badly. At least enough to not make a face or get teary eyed. She looked towards the medic, "Thank you Corporal Dufr-"

 "Doc, most people just call me Doc."

 "Right... thank you Doc." Weiss finished. Boy was he lucky that Yang wasn't around. She would have had a field day with all the puns she could make. She thanked him again for his help and left the infirmary. She half walked and half hobbled as the pain in her ankle was slowly getting worse. She was walking past the bar when she heard someone call her name.

 "Hey Weiss!" Weiss turned to see who had called her. She was met by Yang and Blake coming towards her. Yang continued, "Are you feeling better?"

 "No Yang I'm feeling worse, that's why I'm here and not in the infirmary."

 "Yeah she's feeling better alright." Blake laughed.

 "Oh yeah," Yang agreed, "let me give you the sitrep real quick." She told Weiss about the new plan. How they would be the spearhead of the counteroffensive and how Ruby had been put in charge of so many people.

 "I'm so proud of my baby sister." Yang said finishing up the situation report. "Now she's really able to show off her skills as a leader."

 "Where is she?" Weiss questioned.

 "Oh, we left her at the barracks. She said she wanted to get some shut eye while she still could. Blake and I, on the other hand, decided to come here to the bar. After that shot that we managed to pull off I'm feeling like I deserve some time to party."

 "Right well I'll let you two have fun then, I'll just head to the barracks and get some rest myself."

 "Alright, see ya."

 Weiss left her team mates and continued towards the barracks. When she reached the door she hesitated. She shouldn't feel so distraught about her current situation but she couldn't help it. This war had taken so much from her. Her father's love along with her mother and sister's presence. She was forced to raise her younger brother alone until she had enough and enlisted. There she had met her new team that she came to care for greatly. She started to fall for Ruby and her constant happy attitude. She had come close to revealing her feelings, but now how could Ruby love her, let alone like her, with such a disfigurement. She hadn't actually seen the scar, but based off of how it felt she could guess how bad it was. Weiss shook her head, there was no reason to wallow in self pity. Instead she would just have to deal with her problems and be the supportive teammate that she had told Ruby she would be so long ago.

 Weiss opened the door and entered as quietly as she could. She closed the distance between her and the bunk bed she shared with Ruby. She could just make out Ruby's sleeping form on under the covers. Weiss laid in her own bunk and tried to get comfortable, the pain in her ankle making it rather difficult. She closed her eyes trying to think of anything to take her mind off the pain. She didn't notice when she fell asleep but the next thing she knew, she was on her side facing the wall and could hear someone behind her. From the sound alone she could tell that Ruby was up.

 There were many times during basic training that she would be woken up by Ruby cleaning her rifle. It seemed that the girl had no respect for other's wish to sleep uninterrupted through the night. She rolled over and sat up facing Ruby. She started to smile when the pain of her scar reminded her of her fears. She stopped, halfway between being happy and fearful. Ruby turned towards her having heard the creaking of her bunk. She wore a smile that could melt the snow across the entire base. The smile faded though as she began to notice how Weiss was acting.

 "Weiss?" Ruby questioned, concern and worry clear in her voice. "What's wrong?"

 Weiss turned away. "Nothing. I'm fine."

 "Weiss I can tell when you're lying."

 "I'm not lying."

 "That's exactly what someone who was lying would say!"

 Weiss merely frowned and crossed her arms as she continued to look away from Ruby. Ruby got up from her seat at the desk and walked right up next to Weiss. She placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Please tell me what's wrong. I want to help however I can."

 Weiss started to get teary eyed. She decided to show Ruby rather than try and tell her. So turning to face Ruby, she reached up and started unraveling her bandage. Ruby watched in silence as Weiss removed the bandages covering her left eye. When Weiss finished removing the bandages, she could see a deep scar cutting vertically across her eye. Stitches crisscrossing along the scar's entire length. The medic had done a good job of cleaning and dressing the wound but the damage to Weiss' face was still really bad.

 Weiss watched Ruby's face for any indication of what she might be thinking. She reached her hand up to her face and felt the scar. "I understand... if you don't want... to see me..." She struggled to bring herself to talk. As she continued to look at Ruby she saw a look of anger growing on the other girl's face. _I knew it,_ she thought to herself, _she thinks I'm hideous. She's probably angry that I showed her in the first place._

 "That's it?!"

 Weiss was taken aback by the sudden outburst. "What do you mean?"

 "You're so upset because you got a scar?!" Ruby threw her hands in the air as she continued to yell at Weiss.

 Weiss stood up and took a few steps away from Ruby, completely offset by the unusual behavior and tone. "It's just..." She tried to find her voice.

 "Just what?!" Ruby stepped closer again. "You don't think that anyone will ever find you beautiful again, is that it?! You think that your life is over because you have a permanent scar?! Do you think that no one would ever want to see you again?!"

 Weiss was completely shocked. She had never seen Ruby act so aggressively and full of anger. She started to leave when Ruby grabbed her wrist with an iron grip.

 "Guess what Weiss, you're beautiful! Is that what you want to hear?! You're the most beautiful person I know and not some scar or anything else will ever change that! People aren't going to care if you have a scar!" Ruby pulled Weiss close and hugged her tightly. She held Weiss for a moment in silence before continuing in a much softer and quieter voice. "You could have died. I don't know what I would have done if that shrapnel had been just a bit lower and would have taken you away. Be happy that it's only a scar and not your life."

 Weiss started to cry. Of course Ruby was right, she was acting so childishly about something so petty. She should be more than happy that she got off lightly where many others had not. Still Weiss noticed something, "You think I'm beautiful?" She asked biting back a sob.

 Ruby blinked, realizing herself what she had said in the heat of the moment. "Yes, I do." She pulled back to look at Weiss directly. She stared at the scar that dared to cause so much grief to the person she cared about. "It doesn't even look that bad. You're getting all worked up over nothing." She smiled sweetly before adding, "You dunce."

 Weiss started laughing. "I thought that was my line. Is it really not that bad? I haven't been able to see it yet but it feels like half my face is gone."

 "It just needs time to heal, speaking of which you should probably go back to sleep. Once we head out we won't have much time for rest."

 Weiss frowned, "What about you? I heard that you just got handed the command of a few companies and you're clearly troubled by it since you're cleaning your rifle again."

 "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Ruby gave Weiss the best 'I'm fine' smile she could muster.

 Weiss wasn't really convinced. "Well I'm not tired anymore anyways I'll keep you company while you finish cleaning."

 Ruby looked away, something clearly occupying her mind. Weiss was just about to question her when she spoke up, "I think you should stay here."

 "What?" Weiss looked thoroughly confused. "Of course I'll stay here, that's what I just said I would do."

 Ruby shook her head. "No that's not what I meant. I mean, I think you should stay here at the base while we undertake this counteroffensive."

 "Why?"

 "Weelllll..." Ruby tried to find a way to explain her reasoning. "You're hurt and you need to get lots of rest so that you can start feeling better and you won't really be able to get that when we start attacking and we won't really be near any kind of medical team so we won't be able to take care of you if you start getting worse and-"

 "Stop, stop." Weiss called out trying to stop the barrage of words that she had just been hit with. "One thing at a time. So you don't want me to go with you because you think I need time to heal? Didn't you just say that I didn't look that bad?"

 "Well yeah but I still think you should get some time off."

 "What's really going on here Ruby? Why do you think I should stay?"

 Weiss was looking at Ruby with her arms crossed. A look of annoyance growing on her face as Ruby stayed silent for a while. "Well like I said, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. So I think you should stay. I would be able to make a valid case for you to Ironwood because you're injured."

 "No. I'm not going to stay I want to go with you." Weiss was really starting to get angry now.

 "Weiss please. I'll just get a replacement radio opera-"

 "Don't you get it you dolt!" Weiss burst out. "I want to go with you because I need to make sure your safe. Don't you think that I can't stand the thought of losing you either?"

 Ruby stayed quiet as Weiss turned away. "I care about you Ruby, a-as a friend... and I don't want to be here and have something happen to you. I need to be there to be able to help in any way I can." Weiss turned back towards Ruby a look of determination on her face. "I made a promise to be the best teammate I could be and I'm going to keep my word. I'll go get us some coffee from the mess hall, I'll be back in a bit."

 Weiss hobbled her way out of the barracks, refusing to let her ankle become a problem. Ruby stayed where she was just staring at the door. She kept thinking about what Weiss had said. She wanted to keep her safe and away from danger as much as she could. But Weiss was very clear that she wasn't going to stay.

 "Ugh what am I going to do?" Ruby questioned herself. She loved Weiss and didn't want to see her get hurt but it seemed that maybe, just maybe Weiss felt the same way about her. Enough to put herself in harm's way for her.

 "You should let her come along and maybe be a little more direct about just how much you care about her."

 Ruby jumped and looked around. She could have sworn that she was alone in the barracks. That's when she saw Blake drop from behind the curtains by the barrack's small window. "Blake what are you doing here? How were you hiding there... and when did you come in?"

 "Same time I did." Yang impossibly popped out from under the mattress on her bunk.

 "What?! Where did... how...?" Thoroughly dumbstruck Ruby could only watch as Yang climbed down from her bunk.

 "We decided to come back and see how you and Weiss are doing." Yang said with a smirk.

 "So you got kicked out of the bar again?"

 Yang made a fake gasp and placed her hand over her chest, "How could you suggest something like that? I just wanted to make sure that my baby sister was getting along with her _girlfriend_."

 Ruby felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Before she could say anything Blake spoke up. "Seriously, you should tell her how you feel, you might be surprised."

 "I know, I know. I tried to tell her last night but then I choked and then there was the German attack and Weiss was hurt, I just couldn't find the right time to tell her."

 "Well there's no time like the present." Blake walked over to Yang and held on to her arm. "I mean I wouldn't have gotten together with Yang if she hadn't made a move. I'm sure _if_ Weiss likes you she would love it for you to make a move."

 "Maybe you're right Blake. I'll go meet her at the mess hall." Ruby exited the barracks walking swiftly to catch up to Weiss. After she left Blake turned to Yang who was looking at her skeptically.

 " _If_? I think you mean _since_ she likes Ruby."

 Blake smiled and shook her head. "Yeah but she doesn't know that. She's too afraid to make a move and lose a friend."

 "Well I think we helped her out as much as we could for now. Do you want to go and force Jaune to see reason now?" Yang leaned towards Blake, giving her a devilish grin and an arched eyebrow.

 Blake kissed Yang on the cheek. "I thought you'd never ask."

 

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 _You can do this. You can do this_. Ruby kept telling herself while she walked closer and closer to the mess hall. Since the attack on the base everyone was on edge. Ready to run for cover at the first sign of incoming artillery. She passed troops that were still clearing debris and filling in the craters on the roadways of the base. All around her was an aura of stress, like everyone was holding their breath, which didn't help with Ruby's personal stress levels. _It's just Weiss. Beautiful, talented, smart, scary, terrifying Weiss who you like and telling her could rui- no... I mean someone who hopefully likes you back._ She reached the entrance to the mess hall. Entering she saw that many enlisted soldiers and officers were waiting in the line to get chow. Among them was Weiss. Ruby walked over to her, her mind trying to figure out the best way to tell Weiss how she felt.

 Weiss turned around hearing someone approach. "Hey. I thought you were going to wait for me."

 "Weiss... Weiss I wanted to tell you something." Ruby could feel her throat drying up as she tried to continue. Her arms were shaking and she could barely keep herself from turning and running away.

 "Are you feeling okay? You look like you're about to pass out." Weiss was starting to get concerned. Maybe she was way more exhausted than she had let on earlier. "Look go back to the barracks and wait for me there. Whatever you wanted to tell me can wait."

 "No I have to tell you!"

 Weiss was a bit shocked but waited to hear what Ruby had to say. "Weiss I have wanted to tell you this for a long time." Ruby paused, willing herself to continue. She looked down took a deep breath, " _I love you._ "

 She waited for a response but when none came she looked up at Weiss. Weiss had a look of total confusion and inquiry. She started slowly, "Excuse me?" Ruby's heart started pounding, had she not been clear? Was Blake wrong and Weiss doesn't actually like her?

 "Weiss _I love you._ "

 "I think you're more tired than you realize, just head back to the barracks. Once this line goes through I'll meet you there." Weiss moved with the line now that it had started moving again. Ruby followed her trying to figure out what had just happened.

 "Weiss do you like me?" Weiss froze, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up. She turned back to Ruby, her face slightly pinked, and looked around to the other soldiers around them.

 "W-what?"

 "Do you like me? Because I'm telling you _I love you and you're acting like you have no idea what I'm saying._ " Again Weiss had a look of confusion that was starting to annoy her. "Do you _understand what I'm saying? Weiss?_ "

 Weiss shook her head, "I have no idea what you're saying. Seriously just go lay down it sounds like you're talking gibberish."

  _BANG_. The doors to the mess hall slammed open as Yang came running through, followed closely by Pyrrha. "Hey guys how's it going I'll see you back at the barracks..." She managed to call as she ran past Weiss and Ruby.

 "YANG get back here!" Pyrrha ran past, a look of death of her face. The two girls watched as Yang ran through the kitchen and out the back door, knocking down everything she could to slow down Pyrrha. Pyrrha however, had no trouble weaving through the debris left in the blonde's wake.

 Blake came in a moment after Pyrrha had disappeared out the back door. She walked nonchalantly through the mess hall and came up to where Ruby and Weiss were. "Hey how's it going?"

 "What? Blake, what is going on, why is Pyrrha chasing Yang?" Weiss spoke up since Ruby was still confused.

 "Oh that, well we tried to make Jaune see that Pyrrha liked him and then Yang got a bit carried away. She was getting upset that Jaune was so dense so she told him that Pyrrha is in love with him and well... I think you just saw the aftermath."

 "Wow, how did Jaune react?"

 "He didn't even hear her. Pyrrha tackled Yang before she could finish, it's just that she was so horrified that Yang almost told him. Speaking of which, did Ruby tell you anything?" She turned to Ruby who now looked like she was completely out of it, her eyes halfway closed.

 Weiss looked at her, "I think she's half asleep. She told me earlier, and I quote, 'Weiss falafel'. Do you have any idea what that means?"

 Blake shook her head, "No I don't, let me take her back to the barracks, she's barely standing right now." As Blake finished Ruby's eyes fully closed and Weiss had to catch her to keep her from falling. "Yeah she definitely needs rest. I'll meet you back at the barracks." Blake carried a half awake Ruby out of the mess hall.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ruby woke up. She looked around trying to get her bearings. She didn't remember heading back to the barracks and yet she was in her bunk. She sat up and saw Weiss sitting on the desk chair, waiting for Ruby to wake. Her arms were crossed and she looked angry but her eyes showed the concern that she was trying to hide. She waited silently until Ruby dropped from her bunk and sat on Weiss'.

 "Feeling better?" She questioned. "You basically passed out from lack of sleep."

 "Uh... yeah, what happened?" Ruby rubbed the traces of sleep from her eyes. "All I remember is something about Yang being chased and you had rej-" Suddenly Ruby remembered the way Weiss had reacted to her confession. She tried to hide her hurt but Weiss spotted the change in demeanor. She thought it may have something to do with what Ruby was saying in the mess hall.

 "What were you trying to tell me earlier? Because whatever it was I can assure you I have no idea what you were trying to say."

 Ruby stayed silent. She thought that she had been very clear, it had to be that Weiss was just trying to pretend the whole thing didn't happen by pretending she didn't understand. Blake had been wrong, Weiss had no feelings for her and she should have just left well enough alone. "Weiss, the least you could do is not pretend that you don't know what I said."

 "Ruby I seriously have no idea what you were trying to tell me." Ruby gave Weiss a skeptical look. "I am serious! I mean what does falafel even mean?"

 Ruby blinked questioningly and tilted her head, "I didn't say falafel."

 "Yes you did!"

 "No, I said that I love you." Weiss' eyes grew wide. Ruby took a moment but then realized that Weiss must really not have known. She gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth, her face grew a dark red that matched Weiss'. Weiss started to smile slowly, a rare genuine grin spreading across her face. She stopped short however, a scowl engulfing her features, and moved in close to Ruby, flicking her on the forehead.

 "Ow!" Ruby fell back on her arms, rubbing the sore spot on her head.

 "You idiot. How long have you felt this way?"

 "Well..." Ruby looked away shyly, "Since the tank academy, right after basic..."

 "And you didn't think I might like to know that?" Weiss got closer, threatening to flick Ruby again.

 "Well I didn't want to tell you and find out you don't feel the same, I mean it would be awkward, I would have to deal with the rejection and then we may not be able to work together so you would have to transfer and I don't want that because I, well love you and I want to be near you and be able to keep you safe when we go into battle and now I'm really nervous because you still haven't really said if you like me back or if what I thought was true, so I think I'm just going to leave bef- mmhmm!"

 Ruby was cut short as Weiss shut her up with a kiss. Weiss' lips pressing against Ruby's for what seemed an eternity. Inevitably Weiss broke the kiss by pulling back just enough to look Ruby in the eyes. Her eyes were filled with desire that Weiss reciprocated in full. "Is that enough to tell whether I like you or not?"

 Ruby nodded and pulled Weiss in for another kiss. Time seemed to speed up as they were able to let loose their pent up emotions. They fell onto Weiss' bunk, Ruby's arms reaching behind Weiss' neck, her legs wrapped around Weiss' torso, locking together. Weiss' hand moved to the hem of Ruby's shirt, pulling it up to her neck. She pulled back and Ruby finished pulling off the shirt. Weiss took in the sight beneath her, Ruby's chest rising and falling with each breath. She stood up and took off her own shirt, tossing it to the side with Ruby's. Ruby sat up, Weiss leaned in and kissed her while also reaching around her back and starting to unclasp her bra.

 "Ahem."

 Ruby and Weiss froze. They turned to the front door of the barracks to see Blake and Yang standing there. Blake was hiding a smile with her hand, but Yang looked angry. "Now I know you two weren't going to do anything so soon right?"

 Ruby got off the bed, her face red with embarrassment, "Yang! Don't you knock?"

 Weiss couldn't look the two new arrivals in the face. She kept her hands over her burning face and tried to find where she had thrown their shirts. Yang watched her with squinted eyes before answering Ruby.

 "Knock? For the barracks that we all share and live in?" Yang turned to Blake, "Could you take Ruby outside for a minute? I've got to talk to Weiss."

 "No. Yang you can't just treat me like a child. I'm 18 years old and-"

 "And too young to do something like this." Yang cut her off. "If you insist on staying, so be it. Weiss, keep your hands off my baby sister. I don't want to find you guys in a situation like this again."

 Weiss nodded. "Of course. It won't happen again."

 Yang looked between Weiss and Ruby. She took a minute to consider the situation. "Alright then. Now that that's settled what do you say we call it a night? It's really late and tomorrow we head out."

 Ruby was still upset but decided to go along with Yang and not press the issue. "I think you're right. Good night." The crew changed and got into their beds. The anger and embarrassment of what had just happened replaced with the stress of what tomorrow may bring.

 The stress continued to prove an issue for Ruby, she couldn't find sleep no matter how hard she tried. Sometime later, when she was sure that Yang was fast asleep, Ruby dropped down as quietly as she could. She climbed into Weiss' bed and spooned Weiss from behind. Weiss woke up and turned to see Ruby. She gave her a quick kiss and whispered, "Good night Weiss, I love you." She settled in hugging Weiss. The stress driven away by the security of someone she loved close by, she found the best night's sleep she'd had in weeks.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh college sucks. Sorry for the lack of posts, but between classes, papers, and making edits for iFunny I've found little time for this fic. The writer's block that's plagued me for a while didn't help. But enough griping, we have our crew in a new situation and only hours before the counteroffensive starts. As always, thank you for taking the time to read!


	7. Before the Storm

"What did you think was going to happen?"

 "I thought they would hug, maybe kiss, and... I don't know, just tell us that they were a couple now. Not jump straight to having sex."

 "Granted that was sooner than expected, but they've been skirting around each other for over a year. Don't you remember what happened the night we got together? How it felt?"

 Silence reigned for several seconds as the other person reminisced. "That's not the point. I made a promise to our parents that I would protect her and as far as I'm concerned, letting her have sex right after she got together with Weiss is not protecting her. It's too soon."

 "But did you have to be so direct? They're in love let them have their moment while they still can. You never know what could happen tomorrow or even today."

 More silence, followed by a long sigh. "You're right. Who knows when we'll be back? Or if we will... I just couldn't help but go into big sister mode when I saw her about to do that. I still remember how Weiss treated her back in basic and I don't want her to break Ruby's heart. I remember how our dad was when _my_ mom left. I don't want to see Ruby go through that kind of pain."

 "Weiss would never do something like that."

 "How can you be so sure?"

 "Weiss is a very stubborn person who refuses to change her view on anything, but when you told her to stay away from Ruby she conceded without a fight. Plus have you seen the way she acts towards Ruby now? She treats her kindly and with respect. She was just about to blow off Church's head when he dared to disrespect her. I don't know about you, but that's enough proof for me that she wants to make their relationship work and that she doesn't want Ruby to get hurt by anybody."

 A door opened and closed. There was silence as the new arrival waited to see what would happen. The person took a few steps before being stopped. "Weiss... I'm... sorry. I overreacted to seeing you and Ruby yesterday. She's her own person and I should have given you guys your privacy. It's just that I made a promise to our dad and... our mom, before she died, to keep her safe."

 "... I accept your apology. I love Ruby and I admit we were acting a bit irrationally, but you know that I would never hurt her right?"

 "..."

 "Yaaaang..."

 "Yes. I know, I trust you. You've proven that you're a good person. Just please don't do _that_ while I'm around okay?"

 "Yang you're always around, we live together."

 "Alright, just give me fair warning so I can steer clear."

 "I will, I promise. Have you told Ruby yet?"

 "No she's still sleeping. I figured I'd let her sleep until reveille."

 They turned to look at the sleeping form that stilled itself. Ruby tried to pretend that she was still asleep. She could feel the stares of the other three crew members on her back before Blake spoke up. "Well I'm glad that you two are on good terms again. Yang we should check on the RWBY to see if it's ready to go. We also need to talk to the supply officer about getting more APCR shells."

 "Right lead the way." Yang followed Blake out of the barracks, leaving Weiss and Ruby alone.

 Weiss took a seat at the desk. She started messing with Myrtenaster, pulling out the cylinder and practicing a speed reload. After waiting a minute, Ruby decided that now was a good time to get up. She rolled over and sat at the edge of Weiss' bed. She watched as Weiss elegantly loaded and unloaded shells with ease and precision. She was so concentrated on her reloading technique that she missed Ruby getting closer. Ruby leaned over her, wrapping her arms under Weiss' and laying her head on Weiss' back. Weiss jumped at the sudden contact but quickly composed herself and relaxed into the hug.

 "Good morning Ruby."

 "Good morning!" Ruby happily chirped. "I'm glad to know that Yang is seeing sense now. Even if she did need some encouragement."

 "Oh, you heard that?" Weiss turned around to face Ruby. "I understand your sister's position you know, my sister would probably react the same way if she were here." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think she was right though, we should take this slower and not get ahead of ourselves."

 Ruby pecked Weiss on the lips. "As long as we're together, I'm happy."

 Weiss smiled and kissed Ruby back. They held each other close until a bugle sounded outside, signaling reveille. Weiss pulled back, her expression showing concern.

 "Are you ready for today?"

 Ruby frowned. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She took a deep breath continued, trying to bring back her usual happy attitude,  "I've got to brief the other commanders on the strategy that I came up with. They should be in the command tent soon."

 Weiss followed Ruby to the clothes lockers, "I've got nothing to do so I'll go with you and help out where I can."

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

A supply truck drove by carrying large amounts of munitions. Troops formed up outside for the color guard that was raising the flag in the center of the base. Yang and Blake stopped and saluted waiting for the colors to be fully raised before continuing to the repair garage. They entered the garage and were met with the sounds of welding, hammering and some frustrated cursing. Sparks flew from several tanks that were being repaired by every available engineer. They walked into the center of the garage and looked around for the head engineer. One officer jumped off the front of a nearby M36 Jackson that had a 5inch hole in its hull. She came over and greeted the two crew members.

 "Welcome to my shop, now how can I help you two?"

 "We're checking up on the RWBY, we wanted to see how the repairs are coming along."

 "Ah, well follow me!" The head engineer lead the way through the garage to the back wall. Several tanks that had been repaired were lined up there and were waiting to be retrieved.

 "There she is." The engineer motioned towards the Tiger on the end of the line. "Me and the boys managed to repair the turret and gun sights. The gun mantlet has been reinforced with some steel that I was able to salvage, should provide you with a good 286mm of effective armor thickness if you angle it well, the hull has been outfitted with sandbags to help stop incoming shells, and I've taken the liberty of fixing your auto loading mechanism, it shouldn't have issues firing as often. Also the holes caused by the panzerfaust have been filled in with scrap metal."

 Yang whistled. "You did a whole lot in just one day."

 "Of course ma'am, don't know any other way."

 Blake thanked the engineer and after a quick salute she returned to repairing the Jackson. Blake turned to Yang, "So, what do you think?"

 "I love it. The RWBY looks brand new and the sandbags, plus thicker mantlet, are a huge improvement." Yang grinned. "I can't wait to try out the new mechanism on some German tanks."

 "Oh, thanks for reminding me, help me guide the RWBY out of here and we'll go by the armory."

 Blake climbed into the driver's seat while Yang climbed into the fighting compartment. They started the engine and got the tank moving out of the garage. Yang was standing on Ruby's seat and peering out through the commander's cupola. She guided Blake over the radio since the new sandbags had caused her view range to be even more limited. As they drove to the armory they passed Weiss and Ruby.

 "Blake, hold here." The tank came to a stop. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

 Ruby waved to Yang, "Hey Yang! We were just on our way to brief the other commanders. What are you up to?"

 "Blake and I were going to resupply ammo at the armory."

 "Don't forget to get lots of APCR."

 "You got it. And Ruby..."

 "Yes Yang?"

 "I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know if Weiss told you about what happened but I want you to know that I'm happy you two are together."

 Ruby smiled, "It's fine. I forgive you. Now we'd better head off."

 "We'll meet you on the drill field later. Blake, get us moving." The RWBY continued towards the armory, while Ruby and Weiss started off towards the command tent. They stopped just outside, Weiss waited for Ruby, but she seemed reluctant to enter. She looked over her uniform, folding down the creases and straightening her cover. She stopped when she noticed Weiss watching her.

 "What? I want to make the best impression possible."

 "You already look great."

 "Thanks but I need to be sure I look the best possible. Gomez and Peterson don't really like me, Peterson called me an REMF, whatever that means, and they believe that I'm too young to be a Major." Ruby finished messing with her cover and was now brushing some snow off her boots. "So I figure that looking my best can help show that I am responsible and make a better impression on the other commanders."

 Weiss struggled to contain her anger over the REMF comment. "Well he is right about you being very young for a Major, but that just shows that you are even better than the Major you replaced."

 "Thanks for the reassurance. Let's see... there. Well, I'm done, let's go inside." Ruby opened the tent flap and lead the way inside. She walked to the briefing room and entered with Weiss close behind. Peterson, Gomez, Jaune, and several other tank and infantry commanders were waiting in their seats. Ruby had been given the instructions on what the plan was to the detail the previous day. Since then she had come up with a strategy that she felt would be effective and after running it past Ironwood, was now ready to present it to the other commanders. She walked to the center of the room and Weiss handed her the notes that she had taken. She looked around ready to start but most of the officers were talking amongst themselves. She turned to Weiss who understood what was going on.

 "Atten-HUT!" She called out causing everyone to snap to attention. Peterson was slower but eventually stood at attention.

 "As you were." The officers retook their seats but now paid Ruby their full attention. Several pulled out notepads and pencils, but others merely waited for the briefing. Ruby started to get really nervous with so much attention being placed on her. She fumbled with her notes for a second before placing them on the podium in front of her. Weiss helped her out by turning on the projector and then she moved beside her.

 "As you know, we have been tasked with counterattacking and pushing through to the town of Bastogne. I'm sure you've all had the briefing from Ironwood the covered the general details. I'm here to assign you directly and give my strategy. Captain Arc, you will be my second in command. I want you to lead the second tank company with Captain Gomez. He will report to you and aid you in whatever way you need. Peterson, you're with me, I'll need your help to keep everything in order."

 Ruby looked over her notes. She found the names of the mechanized infantry commanders. "Miles, Jones, Heyman, you three will be under Captain Arc's command. Ramos, Cuevas, Wyatt, you three are under my command." Ruby looked around the room. "Where is Lieutenant Caboose?"

 Lieutenant Miles spoke up. "He got transferred to another command earlier today. Most likely reserves."

 "Alright, in that case let's move on to the strategy of the operation." Ruby turned to point at the projection of the Ardennes forest. "The plan is to attack down these two corridors. The German forces currently occupy the area so we will have to force our way through. Captain Arc and his forces will lead the assault, once he has fully engaged the enemy forces I will lead the assault on the second corridor. Hopefully Arc's assault will distract the enemies enough to make the second assault break through easily. Once we have broken through my company will encircle the German forces and clear the way for Captain Arc. We won't have any air support because of this cloud cover. Some of our flyboys have risked it all to help slow down the Germans and provide supplies for the 101st but we can't rely on them for support. Weather predictions show that cloud cover should dissipate within a few days time so maybe that will change. Until then we do have some calliope support."

 Ruby paused for a second, waiting for the officers to finish taking notes. "After we punch through this location we will proceed to this small town, South of Bastogne. We have been tasked with capturing it and using it as a staging point for the assault on Bastogne. If we can't break through then we have to hold it until reinforcements arrive. Our secondary objective is to attack this German outpost." She motioned to a part of the map that had been enlarged. "Surveillance suggested that there may have been some kind of base before the German's attacked. High command needs someone to investigate and so they've told us to head that way if we complete our primary objective ahead of schedule. We have to cover as much ground as we can today in order to be in position to attack at Point 537. You all have your orders, pass it down the chain of command so that everyone knows what the plan is. Get your troops ready to leave by 0930hrs."

 Weiss stepped forward. "Atten-HUT!" The room once again snapped to attention.

 "Dismissed." Ruby relaxed as the officers left the room. She let out a long sigh, turning to Weiss. ''What do you think? Do you think they got the plan down? That I explained it well enough?"

 Weiss gave Ruby the best reassuring smile she could. "Of course they got it down and besides you remember what they said in officer school, nothing ever goes according to plan, so we must make up the plan as we go."

 Ruby frowned. "That doesn't exactly cheer me up."

 Someone started to clap slowly from the other side of the room. The two girls turned to see Peterson had stayed behind. "Well Rose you put on quite the act. I almost believed you knew what you were talking about."

 Weiss started to get very angry, "Hey she is an excellent leader!"

 "I'm sorry but is your name Rose? I was talking to the Major, Lieutenant and you would do well to remember that I out rank you. Honestly Rose, this is the way you've trained your crew to behave? I shudder at the thought of how they will perform under pressure."

 Weiss jaw dropped and she started to shake with fury. Ruby put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. "You should follow your own advice Peterson. I am a Major after all."

 Peterson shook his head, "You may have the leaf, but until you show me otherwise, you might as well be a Private. You have no experience and your plan doesn't have any kind of fail safe. I've seen plan after plan like yours fall apart. Most of the time at the expense of several good men." He looked leaned forward and down so that he was face to face with Ruby. "I will follow your orders for now, but I will not put my men's lives in unnecessary danger. Keep that in mind... Major."

 Peterson left before Ruby or Weiss could say anything. Once she had calmed down enough Weiss broke the silence, "Do you really think he'd disobey orders?"

 "I don't know. We need every soldier we can get so I don't think command will do much more than slap him on the wrist for insubordination. I'll just have to make sure I don't give him the opportunity to disobey me."

 "If he does I'll personally file the paper work to get him court-martialed. Mark my words."

 Ruby laughed, "Alright I will. Come on, we'd better make sure all of our gear is in order as well." With that the two girls left the briefing room. They met up with Blake and Yang on the drill field and waited for the other troops to join them.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ruby stood on her seat. The upper half of her body cleared the commander's cupola on the RWBY, she turned to her left and right reviewing her forces. Jaune's tank company lead the first column. It consisted of two Sherman Jumbo's, one of them being the JNPR, an M10 Wolverine, three Easy Eight Shermans, a Sherman Crocodile outfitted with a bulldozer, two standard M4 Shermans, and a Sherman Crab outfitted with the calliope rocket launcher. Ruby's column consisted of their Tiger, two loaned Sherman Fireflies, two M18 Hellcats, an M36 Jackson, three standard M4 Shermans, and an M3 Lee. Supporting the two tank columns were the mechanized infantry companies. They consisted of 300 soldiers riding in multiple M3 and M5 halftracks, M8 armoured cars, M5 Stuarts, M20 Utility cars, and standard transport trucks.

 Ruby switched on the short wave radio and activated the speaker. "Commanders check in." Each commander sounded off, telling Ruby that their forces were ready. She looked around once again before checking on her own crew.

 "Blake?"

 "Ready to go."

 "Weiss?"

 "Radio is in good condition, all ready over here."

 "Yang?"

 Yang gave Ruby a thumbs up and her trademark smile. "Raring to go."

 Ruby ran over her mental check list for the thousandth time. She hesitated, the doubt and fear starting to take hold again. _There's nothing to be worried about_ , she thought while shaking her head, _everyone has their orders, they know what they have to do, what could possibly go wrong?_ Ruby spoke into the radio, "Jaune your company has point, we'll follow up right behind, make for Point 537."

 "Copy that." Jaune's tank company rolled out, the mechanized infantry under his command taking the lead as they exited the base. Ruby waited until the last of the halftracks started moving before ordering her own company to move out. The counteroffensive was underway. The American forces were eager to get payback for their fallen brethren and were ready for just about anything the German army could throw at them. Ruby took one last look at Charlie base before the tree line blocked it from sight. This was it, there was no going back now. This was her moment of truth to prove that she was deserving of the rank of Major. That command didn't make a mistake when they were forced to replace a fallen Major and chose her. Snow started to fall when Ruby turned back towards the front of her tank. She sat down in her seat and closed the cupola, settling in for the long trip to their designated staging point.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_Somewhere deep inside a German bunker_

"Yes... yes I understand... no you can count on me, I won't let them break through. Even if they do they won't get their hands on our projects." The German officer listened to the person on the other end of the phone line. Silence filled the room except for the clock on a nearby desk. "Yes sir the robotic prototypes are nearly ready. Provided that our offensive does its job, we should be able to complete our research here."

 The person on the other end could just barely be heard. "Just to be safe I am diverting an SS Division to your sector. This counteroffensive, that our scouts have told us about, goes right near your research bunker and the last thing I want is to lose all of our progress."

 The German officer looked over at the desk with the clock. Strewn across the top was an assortment of blueprints. They detailed procedures, parts, and designs of several robotic appendages. "Thank you for your concern, and the extra troops will be very helpful. I will contact you again once we have tested the prototypes."

 "Germany is counting on your work Merlot, do not disappoint me."

 "Of course, mein Führer. I wouldn't dream of it." Merlot hung up the phone and reviewed his schematics. For now they would only help with German soldiers who had lost a limb in battle. They would be given the ability to return to the fight and buy more time for the end game. Merlot planned to eventually build fully automated weapons and possibly even soldiers. All he had to do was perfect the new robotic technology and keep it from falling into American hands. "Dietrich!''

 An assistant came into the room. "Yes, sir?"

 "Order our forces to dig in. We're going to have some company."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where we have the biggest split from history. Though I'll try to make it plausible instead of going completely overboard. Ruby may have just uttered the most dangerous words anybody can, will it be a huge mistake? Or will there be an exception to the rule? Only time will tell. As always thank you for reading!


End file.
